Hypocrisy

My ultimate job would be to work for the ABC's Foreign Correspondent

This top rate current affairs broadcast is one of my all time favourites. Tonight, I caught the tail-end of a segment on the inter-fightings of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. Being a girl of faith and also having the supreme honour of saying my family hails from this most holy of holy places in the world, I was left embarrassed and stupified at the hypocrisy of these supposed ''holy men'' of the Church.

Let me try to simplify the situation.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jersusalem (which is built on the site where it is claimed the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus took place) is divided into sections where the different Christian denominations - Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Syrian, Egyptian Coptic and Ethiopian worship. Now it is no secret each believes they are superior to the rest, but the war between the Egyptian and Ethiopian Copts takes the cake.

While, I do not claim to know the reasons behind this feud, what has taken place between these two sects is pathetic. As I was watching the segment, I was burning in shame and anger at how the leaders of these two have carried on. Now, I'm not talking about name calling but physically bashing the brains out of the other. Greyed and long bearded monks (most quite elderly) hitting their ''enemies'' with iron bars, sticks and bricks. One Egyptian monk was saying how an Ethiopian bashed their Bishop while he sat motionless in his chair. Other footage was shown of a bleeding- and now brain damaged Ethiopian monk due to the assault- lying motionless on the hard stone ground, blood oozing from his temples.

For shame, for shame. It made me want to vomit.
And these MEN call themselves HOLY and claim to have devoted their lives to emulating Jesus.
What a Joke. How disgusted must God feel?
What happened to, ''Love one another as I have loved you''?
And the Greek Orthodox ( who own the second largest number of assets in Israel) aren't any better. Their (former) head dude, Patriach Irineos I, sold millions of dollars worth of real estate in Jerusalem to - wait for it - JEWISH SETTLERS!!! He has been deposed and is now just a lowly monk. And this is a holy man??? He's just as bad as Judas. No wonder my dad calls them all crooks.
When did it all become about MONEY? Jesus turned the tables of the merchants in the temple in his day, shouldn't these men who teach his word, do the same?
Whilst it sounds like a script from a bad soap opera, the saddest thing about it is that it's all true. The most embarrassing thing for me, however, is that the Israeli army have to keep law and order at the Church. They must be laughing their heads off at us.
I wish I saw the whole show, maybe I can get a tape from the ABC shop. Mike Willacy, you're a top rate Journo.