2. Velma’s Dream
• An initiative to support Holy Land Christians
• A partnership of the Catholic Women’s
League of Canada and Catholic Near East
Welfare Association (CNEWA)
• “Dream” of CWL National Past President
– Velma Harasen
3. Solidarity with Holy Land Christians
• The Holy Father calls us to pay special attention
to Holy Land Christians.
• Pope Benedict visited the Holy Land in
2009, called a Synod of Bishops on the Middle
East in 2010 and visited Lebanon in 2012.
• Pope Francis called a day of prayer for peace in
the Middle East (Sept 2013), and is concerned
with finding a resolution to the Israel/Palestine
conflict.
5. The Holy Land
Consists of:
• Israel
• Palestine
– West Bank & Gaza Strip
• Jordan
• Holy Sites and Churches
– Bethlehem: Church of the Nativity
– Jerusalem: Church of the Holy Sepulchre
– Nazareth, Galilee and many other holy sites
7. A Bit of History
• In 1948, the State of Israel was founded.
• For many years, this was rejected by the Arab
world and Palestinians.
• Today, Palestinians have still do not have a
state.
8. Some Statistics
• Palestinian population was 1.2 million before
1948.
• During the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli war, at least
750,000 Palestinians became refugees.
• Palestinian Christians were 20% of the
population (and now it’s less than 2%).
9.
10. The Impact on Palestinians
• The unresolved conflict has had a negative
impact on Palestinians.
• In turn, this impacts Palestinian
Christians, who are a minority within a
minority.
13. The Separation Wall
• Since 2004, a wall is being built separating
Israel from Palestine.
• Israel built the wall to protect themselves and
their settlements from attack.
• For Palestinians, the wall is a way for Israel to
grab their land and isolate them.
15. Christians in Palestine
About 1% of the population (50,000 Christians)
Located in the:
I.
West Bank
•
•
II.
III.
Southern Region (Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit
Sahour, Jericho)
Northern Region (Ramallah, Taybeh, Aboud,
Jifna, BirZeit, Zababdeh, Ein Arik)
Gaza Strip
East Jerusalem
17. Christians in Israel
• Total Population in Israel: approx. 8 million
• 6 million Jewish (75%)
• 1.66 million are Arab Citizens (20.7%)
• 158,000 Palestinian Arab Christians
(2% of total pop.)
• 318,000 Non-Arab Christians (4% of total pop.)
18. Christians in Israel
• After the 1948 war and creation of Israel,
remaining Arabs were granted
citizenship, including Palestinian Christians.
• Christians in Israel have more benefits than
those in Palestine, but they face
discrimination in a number of areas.
19. Decreasing numbers of
Christians in the Holy Land
Emigration due to:
• Political reasons
– Since 1948, a stalemate in Israel-Palestine conflict
• Economic reasons
– Poverty, high unemployment
20. Why support Christians
in the Holy Land?
• So that they’re able stay in the Holy Land
(they want to stay)
• They are Caretakers of Jesus’ land and
our Christian heritage - “Living Stones”
• The Christian community keeps holy sites alive.
• They are the living church. Otherwise, the churches are
just tourist attractions.
21. Why support Christians
in the Holy Land?
A bridge between Jews and Muslims:
• They demonstrate Christian values (e.g. peace &
reconciliation)
• A huge role in interfaith dialogue
• Christians are often trusted and respected by all
22. Why support Christians
in the Holy Land?
Many Christians serve in social service institutions
run by the Church
– e.g. schools, hospitals, orphanages
• In many ways, the Church does the work of
governments (e.g. social services)
• Services are provided to all segments of society
with no discrimination
23. Christian Presence - Institutions
Education Schools, college,
university,
research,
vocational training
Youth,
Youth, sports,
etc.
cultural,
environmental
Social
Orphanages, old
Services age centres
Health
Hospitals, clinics
Services
Youth
28%
Education
46%
Social
Services
15%
Health
11%
Fact: Although Christians
represent about 1% of the
population in Palestine,
45% of all social services
are Christian-run.
26. What is Velma’s Dream?
• Velma Harasen, Past President of the CWL of
Canada, visited the Holy Land in 2010.
• Her eyes were opened to the struggles of local
Christians, and she came back to Canada
compelled to act.
• GOAL: to help Christians through their
institutions that serve the poor and
marginalized, in the land where Jesus was born.
27. Infant Welfare Centre
• Location: Old City of Jerusalem
• Purpose: Remedial Education program
for teenage students, to prevent them
from dropping out of school
28. Infant Welfare Centre
• Assists: Young people who have poor
grades at school, and support for their
families and teachers
• Issues: Poverty drives many youth to
drop out of school, and they struggle
with alcoholism, drug addiction, violence
29.
30. Shepherd’s Field Hospital
• Location: Beit Sahour (near
Bethlehem), Palestine
• Purpose: Cooperative society providing
health care for the marginalized:
delivering babies, providing day surgery
and health education
31. Shepherd’s Field Hospital
• Assists: Pregnant & new
mothers, newborn babies
• Issues: Many women & children live in
poverty in Palestine, and suffer from iron
deficiency
34. What is CNEWA?
• Catholic Near East Welfare Association
• A special agency of the Holy Father, Pope
Francis
– Established in 1926 by Pope Pius XI
– Started in Canada in 2005
• Supporting the works of the Eastern
(Oriental) Catholic Churches
35.
36. Where does CNEWA work?
• Middle East
– Israel/Palestinian Territories
– Syria
– Egypt
– Iraq
– Jordan
– Lebanon
• Also Northeast Africa, India, & Eastern Europe
38. Support Holy Land Christians
• Pray for Holy Land Christians and for all
people in the Middle East
– Pray for peace and their well-being
39. Support Holy Land Christians
• Be informed of issues in the Holy Land
and the Middle East
– Follow current events in the news
– e.g. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Syria, Egypt
– Find out how the Canadian government is
involved
– Visit www.cnewa.ca
40. Support Holy Land Christians
• Go on a Holy Land Pilgrimage
– Show solidarity and visit Christians living there
41. Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
•
•
•
•
June 29 – July 9, 2014
Organized by CNEWA Canada
For Catholic Women’s League Members
www.cnewa.ca/web/cwltrip
42. Make a donation to
Velma’s Dream today!
• CWL Councils can send donations to:
The Catholic Women’s League of Canada
C-702 Scotland Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3M 1X5
Note: Please indicate on the “National Voluntary Fund
Remittance Form” that you wish to support CNEWA.
• If individuals would like a tax receipt,
they can give directly to CNEWA Canada.
Map 1: The map represents Palestine in 1946 under British administration.Map 2: In 1947, the United Nations had a plan to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.In 1948, the plan was adopted by the UN and war broke out between Israel and the Arab world.Map 3: By 1949 (after the war), Palestine had lost more land promised by the UN partition plan.Map 4: Since 1967, Israel has been occupying the land and establishing illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
Photo caption: Part of the wall in Bethlehem with graffiti
Orphanage in Bethlehem
Suggestion: Show “Velma’s Dream” video
Cooperative society – those who can pay, they pay a membership fee. The poor who cannot pay still receive services.
Suggestion: Show “What is CNEWA” video
There are 22 different Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome e.g. Ukrainian, Coptic, Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite. Each with their own unique traditions.
CNEWA Canada’s National Director Carl Hétu meets Pope Francis in June 2013
Picture from the 2013 Holy Land Pilgrimage for CWL members, organized by CNEWA Canada
