(The Pillar. Filipe D’Avillez).
An Arab League ambassador said this week that Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa has “not necessarily” been well-received by Arab Christians in the role that he has occupied since 2020.
“There are different opinions, but I think we would have preferred to have an Arab prelate,” said diplomat Malek Twal, the ambassador of the Arab League in Spain.
He told The Pillar that while Pizzaballa “tried at the very beginning” to serve as a mediator in the current conflict in the Middle East, his efforts were “without any concrete results.”
Pizzaballa was appointed by Pope Francis as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem four years ago. The role, which serves Latin Rite Catholics in Cyprus, Jordan, Israel and Palestine, had previously been held by Archbishop Fouad Twal, uncle of Malek Twal, who retired in 2016.
Before his appointment as patriarch, Pizzaballa had spent years working in the Holy Land, including most recently as apostolic administrator of the patriarchate he currently heads.
Shortly after the mass-casualty terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7 last year, Pizzaballa made headlines by saying he was willing to take the place of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza by the Islamist group Hamas.