Archbishop Capucci
Archbishop Capucci¹
It is a dangerous matter that shakes the human conscience to sentence an archbishop to imprisonment on a charge that touches his personal character. It is perhaps even more dangerous and painful for his children and his flock.
The man of the clergy: his judge is his conscience, not the courts of the world. The deeds of a man of the clergy should be taken in good faith, in a manner consistent with his ideals and his example.
Archbishop Capucci, as an Arab citizen loyal to his Arab identity, defends the rights of the Palestinian people. This made the judgment issued against him have a great echo in Arab circles, and this judgment became one of the حلقات (links) of the Palestinian struggle and a part of its history.
Thus Arabs in all countries rose to defend Capucci—not only Christians, but Muslims as well. His case is not merely the case of an archbishop, but rather the case of an Arab struggle for Palestine and the future of its people.
For all this, we were deeply pained when Israel sentenced Archbishop Capucci, the Greek Catholic Bishop of Jerusalem, to twelve years of imprisonment.
Many protests against this judgment were submitted by men of the clergy and by statesmen.
For this reason, His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos Hakim traveled to the Vatican to confer regarding the judgment issued against Capucci, and regarding the fate of his diocese and his flock.
We hope that freedom will return to Archbishop Capucci, and that the rights of the Palestinian people will return.
¹ An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – Al-Keraza Magazine – Fifth Year – Twelfth Issue – 21-12-1974.
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