Patriarch urges bishops to affirm Holy Land's Christian character

Published: 2004-01-13

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) -- Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem urged leaders of 10 bishops' conferences to help protect the "Christian character" of the Holy Land by aiding the reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Patriarch Sabbah told the group -- which included bishops from the United States, Canada and England -- that without the support of the international church community the region's Christian character could be "obliterated by the political aspect of the conflict." At the bishops' opening session Jan. 12, the patriarch emphasized that he was not asking world churches to support one side over the other. "Reconciliation ... is also the best way to help the Christian presence in this land," he said. He also called for continued solidarity through actions such as pilgrimages. Bishops from Europe and North America met Jan. 12-15 in Jerusalem and Bethlehem in a conference coordinated by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. The theme of the meeting was "The Universal Church in Solidarity with the Church of the Holy Land."

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