What brings more scandal to the faithful than the witness of the clergy and monks? I am not
sure, but this story in the UK Times illustrates that conversion is long way off. The actions of these monks makes me think that Christ matters not to these men. I am saddened but these petty men.
In another place….
Franciscan calls monastery roof dispute in Holy Land nothing new
JERUSALEM (CNS) — A report saying that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s Deir al-Sultan monastery on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is in danger of collapse is just another manifestation of a long-standing dispute, said a Franciscan friar. “This is an old, long-standing issue; a long-standing property dispute” between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church, said Father Athanasius Macora, who monitors the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. “I don’t think the danger is imminent but there is a problem which needs to be dealt with,” said Father Macora. He noted that the latest engineering report was initiated by the Ethiopian church, which is eager to have repairs made. Parts of the report were published in the Israeli daily Haaretz Oct. 7. The article called the complex “a danger to human life.” The monastery, made up of two chapels, an open courtyard, four service and storage rooms, and a series of tiny mud-hut rooms inhabited by Ethiopian monks, is reminiscent of a small African village. All agree it is in poor shape.