Rome, Italy, Jan 19, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Bishops from the Episcopal Conferences of Europe, Canada and the United States expressed their solidarity with Christians in the Holy Land and called for the establishing of a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people, where “two viable states and three religious confessions” dwell together.
The bishops were participating in the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land. “We have come as pilgrims in prayer to pray for the prosperity of the Church and of all the peoples of the Holy Land,” they said in a statement.
Bishops from Episcopal conferences of Austria, Canada, England and Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States were among those in attendance.
In their message the bishops underscored that the meeting provided the chance to witness “the vibrant faith of the Church in her worship, in her service to the people through many ecclesial institutions.” Nevertheless, they exhorted the faithful to pray for the Christians of the Holy Land, to go on pilgrimage to the holy sites and to support “generously the institutions of the local Church” by promoting “initiatives that bring peace and justice.”