Gaza Christians trapped between Israeli blockade, Muslim society
January 09, 2012
Bishops from Europe and the United States who are visiting Gaza are finding a small Catholic community trapped between an Israeli blockade and an overwhelmingly Muslim culture. Gaza’s sole parish, led by an Argentine priest, operates three schools and distributes food and medicine to the poorest.
“We sat and listened as local people talked of their difficulties, caught between the Israeli blockade, denying them contact with family and friends in the West Bank (around 500 permits are issued for the 3000 Christians at Christmas and Easter, but not for those aged between 16 and 35) and the problems of finding jobs or raising families in the majority Islamic society,” Vatican Radio reported. “Most of the people here love the Christians, one man said, while another mother complained that their children were ‘invited’ to become Muslims and needed to be strengthened in their Christian faith.”
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