International

Monks fight eviction by fellow Catholics
Melkites defy Israeli court, lock selves in chapel

Ibrahim Hazboun
Associated Press

EVEN SAPIR, Israel -- Six Melkite monks locked themselves inside a secluded monastery Thursday, frustrating Israeli officials who came to evict them.

An Israeli court had ruled that the monastery belongs to another order, the Franciscans. The Melkite monks were ordered to leave by Wednesday. Instead, they decided to resist.

Court officials who arrived to enforce the eviction order loaded some furniture onto a truck before the monks sealed themselves in a chapel in the old, dark church building. There was no attempt to remove them.

The Melkite monks, members of a Greek Catholic denomination loyal to the Pope, leased the St. John in the Desert monastery from the Franciscan order in 1978, but their lease expired.

The Franciscans, who built the cluster of buildings in the hills west of Jerusalem in 1922, want the complex back. They first filed suit in 1994.

The monastery marks the area where Christians believe John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus, lived in solitude, eating locusts and honey and drinking spring water.

Father Elisha stayed outside to explain the monks' case. He said Melkites and Franciscans are both Catholics, adding "it is a shame" that "we could be evicted and mistreated by a sister community."

The Melkite sect belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church until 1724, when it became Greek Catholic. The Melkites maintain the rituals of the Eastern Orthodox religion.

About 55,000 Greek Catholics live in the Holy Land, Father Elisha said.

The monks' lawyer, Yossi Svatch, said the Israeli court should not have interfered in the case. He said the Vatican should resolve it.

Claudio Baratto, a spokesman for the Franciscans, who are the custodians of Roman Catholic property in the Holy Land, said they would not back down.

Israel radio said the state is hesitant to evict the monks by force, fearing negative publicity.

The Melkites say that the complex was a run-down collection of hovels when they leased the site. They renovated the buildings and opened them to the public. About 30,000 Israelis visited the site last year, Father Elisha said.

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