Tag: Palestine
South African Archbishop talks about the Holy Land Co-ordination visit to Gaza
Greetings! I am Steven Breslin, the Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese of Cape Town in South Africa. The Holy Land Coordination is a group of Bishops who come to the Holy Land every year in January. This year, we are 13 bishops from various different countries and our aim, of course, is to give support and…
Hope for the future in the Holy Land
Bishops from across Europe, North America and South Africa will meet in the Holy Land over the coming days to promote dialogue and peace, while meeting young people. This annual visit was set up 20 years ago at the invitation of the Holy See with the aim of visiting and supporting the Holy Land’s local…
Cardinal’s letter on Jerusalem and Christians of the Holy Land
Following your letter to President Donald Trump, of 6 December 2017, and on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, I wish to express my solidarity with you and all Christians in the Middle East at this troubling time. We count ourselves among those who ‘love Jerusalem’ and ‘have every will to work…
Britain’s Broken Promise: Time for a New Approach
Thank you for inviting me to address this important event tonight. I would like to start by sharing two brief memories of my most recent visit to the Holy Land;
Bishops call for action after fifty years of occupation in the Holy Land
For fifty years the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza have languished under occupation, violating the human dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis.
Israeli police prevent Bishops from visiting the Cremisan Valley
The Holy Land Coordination was travelling to the area for the third year running when they were confronted by security forces and instructed to leave.
Plight of Iraqi Christians: Bishops highlight harsh situation of refugees from Isis persecuted for their faith
The international group of mainly Catholic bishops will use their journey around the region’s beleaguered Christian communities to draw world attention to the harsh conditions faced by Iraqi Christians who were driven from their homes by the Isis advance in the summer of 2014.
Parish Priest in Gaza City: Gaza is a prison but your prayers give us power
Fr Mario has been priest of the Holy Family parish in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood for three years. He welcomed the bishops of the Holy Land Coordination to his Church for Mass on Friday 8 January and afterwards gave a short reflection on the visit:
Statement from Bishop Declan Lang on recent violence in the Holy Land
As I pray for the dead and injured from both the Palestinian and Israeli sides, I also call upon both communities and their leaderships to exercise restraint and refrain from going down the slippery road of tit-for-tat killings and mutual recrimination.
Holy Land Christians: Call for Solidarity
The Cardinal and Archbishop were returning from the Plenary Assembly of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) which had been meeting in Galilee and Jerusalem at the invitation of His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Bishop Declan Lang: Delight at the Cremisan Valley Final Judgement
The proposed wall through the Cremisan valley threatened to separate the nineteenth century Salesian monasteries and a convent school. The Court has instructed the Israeli government to plan a new route, although it has set no time frame for the new plans. I am against all walls that separate communities from each other, let…
Bishops call for human dignity as basis for peace in Holy Land
“Human dignity is given by God and is absolute. The ongoing conflict assaults the dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis, but in a particular way our commitment to the poor calls us to lift up the suffering people in Gaza.