Bishops of the Holy Land Coordination have issued a statement after two Christian women were killed in a sniper attack on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza on 16 December 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bishops of the Holy Land Coordination were profoundly shocked and distressed at the killing by snipers on 16 December of two Christian women sheltering in the compound of the Holy Family church, Gaza. Messages were sent immediately to the Patriarch, His Eminence Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and to the Parish Priest, Fr Gabriel Romanelli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Holy Land Coordination has been warmly welcomed by priests and parishioners on numerous occasions. We have witnessed first-hand the faith and commitment of the few parishioners who remain; and the dedicated care by the Missionaries of Charity of some fifty profoundly disabled people who live in the convent alongside the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The desecration of this compound and the destruction of the Sisters\u2019 convent, \u201csignalled,\u201d according to the Patriarch, \u201cas a place of worship since before the beginning of the war,\u201d is profoundly disturbing. The shooting in cold blood of Nahida Anton and Samar Antoun, a mother and daughter seeking to enter the convent is unfathomable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Holy Land Coordination bishops represent a broad sweep of countries, each bishop committed to a just peace for all and to holding the plight of Christians of the Holy Land at the forefront of their governments\u2019 concerns. We visit the Holy Land regularly to reassure these Christians that they are not forgotten. We seek also to understand better, and at first hand, the realities experienced by the people of three Abrahamic faiths sharing this Land; to fathom the possibility of hope in a two-state solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The atrocities perpetrated against Israeli Jews on 7 October and the subsequent killing by the Israeli Defence Force of nearly 20,000 Gazans, of whom 70% were women and children, would appear profoundly to jeopardise the prospects of any such resolution of this deep-seated conflict. Yet, the approaching celebration of Our Saviour\u2019s birth two thousand years ago in the heart of the West Bank should serve as an incentive to people of faith, across the globe, to call down the Holy Spirit ever more fervently to move the hearts of all who can bring influence to bear on these lands and to find a way to cease the hostilities from all sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bishop Nicholas Hudson (Chair of the Holy Land Coordination) Bishop Nicolo Anselmi Archbishop Udo Bentz Bishop Pierre Burcher Bishop Christopher Chessun Bishop Michel Dubost Archbishop Richard Gagnon Bishop William Kenney Bishop Declan Lang Bishop Donal McKeown Archbishop William Nolan Archbishop Joan Enric Vives i Sicilia Bishop Sithembele Sipuka Bishop Paul Terrio Since 1998, the Bishops\u2019 Conference\u2019s Department for International Affairs has organised the annual meeting of the Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land. The Holy Land Coordination focuses on the three Ps: Prayer, Pilgrimage and Persuasion. Prayer is the framework of the meeting, with daily celebration of the Eucharist, often in different rites. Pilgrimage to the local Catholic communities and holy sites is always a key component of the visit. The \u2018Persuasion\u2019 element usually occurs when the bishops and other delegates return to their home countries and share their views with parliamentarians, diplomats and the media on a wide range of issues affecting the lives of Christians in the Holy Land.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bishops of the Holy Land Coordination have issued a statement after two Christian women were killed in a sniper attack on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza on 16 December 2023. Holy Land Coordination Statement The Bishops of the Holy Land Coordination were profoundly shocked and distressed at the killing by snipers on 16 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[49,61,99,100,369,110,211],"bishop":[],"department":[],"class_list":["post-9530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaza","tag-bishops","tag-christian","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-city","tag-holy-family-parish","tag-holy-land","tag-statement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster
England and Wales<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop of Rimini
Italy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Archbishop-elect of Paderborn
Germany<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop Emeritus of Reykjavik
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Anglican Bishop of Southwark
Church of England<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop Emeritus of Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes
France<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Archbishop of Winnipeg
Canada<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Birmingham
England and Wales<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop of Clifton
England and Wales<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop of Derry
Ireland<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Archbishop of Glasgow
Scotland<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop of Urgell and Co-Prince of Andorra
Spain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop of Mthatha
South Africa<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Bishop Emeritus of St Paul
Canada<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nBackground on the Holy Land Coordination<\/h4>\n\n\n\n