Supporting Catholics living in Israel is a priority for Catholics around the world, the prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches says. In the name of the pope, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri is calling for Catholics to donate money for Christians in Israel.

In a letter sent to bishops around the world last week, Sandri asked the bishops to support the small group of Catholics in Israel by supporting the annual Good Friday collection. The Catholics who reside in the Holy Land, he said, are a priority for the entire Catholic Church.

The Good Friday collection is an annual Catholic tradition, and the money taken largely goes to supporting Franciscan activities in Israel. “In this way,” wrote the cardinal, “the Latin community openly supports the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Franciscans who are Custodians of the Holy Land, and all those belonging to the Eastern Catholic Churches.”

Sandri emphasized the fact that Israel is an area Pope Benedict xvi takes a special interest in. His letter began:

During his visit to this dicastery to commemorate the 90th anniversary of its founding, Pope Benedict xvi issued an appeal for peace in the Holy Land and in the Middle East. The date was June 9, 2007, on which occasion the holy father announced my nomination as prefect for the Congregation for Eastern Churches.Two other pontifical declarations followed later during the same month, both expressing concern for the situation in this region and for the welfare of its inhabitants. …I … desire to emphasize, as has the pontiff, the invitation to you to continue to sustain spiritually and materially those Catholics living in the Holy Land. Pope Benedict’s are words which constitute a persuasive and authoritative call to solidarity.

Sandri went on to write about how important the area should be for all Catholics: “[W]e must recognize that Christians who reside there are a priority for the attention of the entire Catholic Church, together with that of all other churches and ecclesial communities.”

“We must seek to safeguard Christianity’s historic legacy by striving to preserve those ‘living communities’ in which the Mystery of Christ, our Peace, is cherished and celebrated,” he wrote.

While much is written about Palestinian designs on Jerusalem, this letter is a reminder that the Vatican has a strong interest there as well. Jerusalem is a holy city to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Joseph Ratzinger, the current pope, has long had his sights on Jerusalem. “The star points to Jerusalem,” he wrote before being elected pope. Ratzinger was known for making statements concerning a reconciliation of sorts with the Jews, that reconciliation being, “the moment in which Israel too will say yes to Christ” (Ratzinger, God and the World). The pope also sponsored a conference in March 2006 that portrayed “the Crusades as wars fought with the ‘noble aim’ of regaining the Holy Land for Christianity” (Times, London, March 20, 2006).

The Vatican wants Jerusalem. It has a very keen interest in the Holy Land. Watch Jerusalem, and look for the Vatican to become more involved in Israel.