News Brief19:16 PM

(IsraelNN.com) Several senior Catholic officials, among them Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Bishop Elias Chacour, and Vatican representative Pierre Batista, have announced their opposition to a plan to build the world’s largest cross in Nazareth.  The project was proposed by local and Italian businessmen, who said the planned 60-meter tall cross would be a tourist attraction.

The Catholic officials said their primary reason for opposing the plan was fear that the cross could offend members of other religions, including the Muslim majority in Nazareth.  They also expressed concern that the giant cross could draw attention from the Church of the Annunciation, which Christians consider Nazareth’s holiest site.