( dpa ) - Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michael Sabbah gave his last Easter homily Sunday, demanding an end to the spiral of violence engulfing the Middle East.
Addressing pilgrims in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre In Jerusalem, where tradition says Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected, Sabbah warned that recent events in the Holy Land, including a fierce Israeli air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and the murder of eight students at a Jewish religious seminary in Jerusalem, were nothing more than a "sterile repetition" of the events of the past years.
Security, he warned, could not come from inflicting insecurity on others and ordering others to kill was not an appropriate way to honour life and legitimise rights.
Sabbah, the first Palestinian to become Latin Patriarch - the head of the Catholic Church in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan and Cyprus - has been a staunch and at times outspoken critic of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian areas.
He tendered his resignation to the Vatican last Wednesday, on his 75th birthday, in accordance with Church tradition.
His successor will be Fuad Twa, a Jordanian, who was designated for the post by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
Thousands of pilgrims from around the world continued to flock to Jerusalem Sunday, visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and praying at Jesus' tomb. However Greek-Orthodox Christians, who make up a significant portion of Christians in the Holy Land, do not celebrate Easter this year until the last weekend of April.