of the new creation, hope continues to battle despair, frustration and cyni-

cism, while the peace which is God's gift and call continues to be threatened

by selfishness, conflict, division and the burden of past wrongs. For this

reason, the Christian community in this City which beheld the resurrection

of Christ and the outpouring of the Spirit must hold fast all the more to the

hope bestowed by the Gospel, cherishing the pledge of Christ's definitive

victory over sin and death, bearing witness to the power of forgiveness,

and showing forth the Church's deepest nature as the sign and sacrament

of a humanity reconciled, renewed and made one in Christ, the new Adam.

Gathered beneath the walls of this city, sacred to the followers of three

great religions, how can we not turn our thoughts to Jerusalem's universal

vocation? Heralded by the prophets, this vocation also emerges as an indi-

sputable fact, a reality irrevocably grounded in the complex history of this

city and its people. Jews, Muslims and Christians alike call this city their

spiritual home. How much needs to be done to make it truly a "city of peace"

for all peoples, where all can come in pilgrimage in search of God, and hear his

voice, "a voice which speaks of peace"! 5

Jerusalem, in fact, has always been a city whose streets echo with diffe-

rent languages, whose stones are trod by people of every race and tongue,

whose walls are a symbol of God's provident care for the whole human

family. As a microcosm of our globalized world, this City, if it is to live up

to its universal vocation, must be a place which teaches universality, respect

for others, dialogue and mutual understanding; a place where prejudice,

ignorance and the fear which fuels them, are overcome by honesty, integrity

and the pursuit of peace. There should be no place within these walls for

narrowness, discrimination, violence and injustice. Believers in a God of

mercy - whether they identify themselves as Jews, Christians or Muslims

- must be the first to promote this culture of reconciliation and peace,

however painstakingly slow the process may be, and however burdensome

the weight of past memories.

Here I would like to speak directly to the tragic reality - which cannot

fail to be a source of concern to all who love this City and this land - of the

departure of so many members of the Christian community in recent years.

While understandable reasons lead many, especially the young, to emigrate,

this decision brings in its wake a great cultural and spiritual impoverishment

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5 Cfr. Ps 85:8.