Catholic World News News Feature

Palestinian Melkite becomes first Israeli citizen named a bishop February 09, 2006

The Melkite Catholic Synod has named Father Elias Chacour, an Israeli Palestinian, to be the next Archbishop of Galilee.

Archbishop-elect Chacour, who currently heads an Arabic university in Ibillin, a town in Gailliee, is the first Israeli citizen ever to be selected as a Catholic bishop.

Known for his efforts to promote friendship between Arabs and Jews, the new archbishop has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He acknowledged to the Israeli publication Haaretz that he was taking over the Melkite archdiocese at a "fairly difficult time for relations between Jews, Arabs, and Muslims." But in a separate comment to the Jerusalem Post he said: "I hope to be a moderating voice in the conflict that has spilled too much blood."

The Melkite Catholic Archdiocese of Jerusalem extends over all of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Archbishop-elect Chacour will also be the first Hebrew-speaking leader for the archdiocese, which serves about 55,000 Eastern Catholics.