The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, will launch on September 7 the international forum "Within Your Gates" (Dentro das Tuas Portas), a research initiative aimed at rescuing the universal vocation of the city. The project is being developed in partnership with the academic center of the University of Notre Dame in Jerusalem and will bring together specialists from different religions to reflect on a better future for all inhabitants of the Holy Land.
In an open letter released for the launch, Cardinal Pizzaballa warns that the violence that struck the region "has done more than destroy lives and homes," having "poisoned the very language" itself. The Catholic leader laments the daily emptying of words such as "peace," "coexistence," and "dialogue," warning that when language fails, silence follows, and in that silence violence screams its brutal language.
The applied research platform will be directed by researcher Daniel Schwake and presents itself as a structure independent from Church institutions, although it rests on a foundation based on faith. The project's doors are open to Muslims, Jews, Christians, and non-believers, summoning theologians, political scientists, historians, and architects to reflect on the concrete problems of daily life.
The Italian cardinal emphasizes that the gates of Jerusalem "were not built for defense," but to establish a welcoming way of life oriented toward "the stranger and the pilgrim." D. Pierbattista Pizzaballa rejects the idea that the cultural and religious complexity of the city constitutes an obstacle and argues that "there is no monopoly here; we all belong to Jerusalem." The earthly mission of Jerusalem, the Latin patriarch concludes, is to present itself as an "image and mirror" of universal reconciliation that "God desires for the entire human family."
