Cardinal Angelo Scola received the Nazareth olive tree,
symbol of the dialogue between Jews and Christians
A little olive tree, born a few weeks ago, but that already has important meaning, symbol of peace that comes from the land of the Lord, Nazareth.
Since today, the VII World Meeting of Families has also in the spaces of Mico – FieraMilanoCity, its emblem: in fact a young olive tree that arrived this morning directly from Nazareth, has been donated by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism to Cardinal Scola. The initiative, promoted by the city of Nazareth and endorsed by Ministry of Tourism, virtually unites the Holy Family city and which, in these days, is hosting pilgrims coming from 153 different countries.
The Archbishop Scola, receiving the olive tree from the hands of Tzvi Lotan, Tourist Affairs Councilor of the Israeli Embassy, surrounded by many children native of different parts of the world, emphasized how “this gesture show us the way of a task that awaits us all: the achievement of peace and brotherhood in the Middle East, a tormented land where even Christians suffer persecution. “
Noting that the two religions, Christian and Jewish, are inextricably linked by the Word of God and by the importance of prayer in both of them, Cardinal Scola, whom Cardinal Antonelli was next to, also underlined as the olive tree, which will grow (it will be planted at the end of the Congress of the young people in the courtyard of the Archbishop’s curia of Milan), can and should be a sign of responsibility towards the family, as a place where one can live in a balance between work and rest.
Words echoed by Lotan who said, addressing the Archbishop, “Your Eminence is now the caretaker of this tree, caretaker for the whole Christian family.” I know, he said on the sidelines, “the great Cardinal’s commitment to the promotion of dialogue and peace in the Middle East and in our country. It is an honor having delivered into his hands the olive, the emblem of the future, reconciliation and dialogue, but also of the family”.
