Israel Needs Pope Francis

As the visit of Pope Francis to Israel approaches, there is increasing anxiety over the visit due to the rise of “price tag” attacks against Christian institutions. According to the latest reports, there has recently been a dramatic increase in these attacks on Christian institutions. The Catholic Church in Israel and abroad is quite upset, and has been lodging significant protests with the government of Israel.

It would clearly be in the interest of the government of Israel to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because by continuing to ignore this the government will risk alienating Christians (and Muslims) around the world, who will not be able to understand why the state refuses or is unable to crack down on this pernicious, religiously-motivated and xenophobic rash of attacks against churches and mosques.