Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Tabgha (Agenzia Fides) - On Monday 21 September, Israel's Attorney General announced that the State of Israel will offer compensation to the Sanctuary of the Miracle of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, in Tabgha, which on June 18 was burnt by terrorists of the extreme radical right wing. This was reported by official sources of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The church near the Sea of Galilee, which is home to a Benedictine monastic community, had received solidarity after the vandalic act. On 27 August, the church was also visited by President Reuven Rivlin. On that occasion, the President of the Jewish state had pointed out that "Israel is a democratic country, which guarantees freedom of worship for all, in which the Christian communities must be able to flourish in complete safety".
The news of the compensation ordered by the Attorney General was welcomed by the environments of the Churches of the Holy Land. Only a few days ago (see Fides 14/09/2015), the Israeli tax authority had rejected the claim presented by the Catholic Church for the damage of the arsonist attack, arguing that the terrorist nature of the fire was not demonstrable and that the damage caused by the fire was not among those compensated by them, as the regulations provide compensation only for acts of violence caused by the Arab-Israeli conflict. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 22/09/2015)
