U.S. bishops call on U.S. to push forward Middle East peace process

Published: 2004-11-15

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops said the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is a time of opportunity for the United States to help push forward the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian people. In separate statements, Bishops Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., chairman of the bishops' international policy committee, expressed solidarity with the people of the Middle East and called for renewed U.S. leadership toward peace in the region. Bishop Gregory said U.S. bishops fear that, without strong engagement by the United States, "this moment will be lost and the region will continue to be torn apart by the violence and retaliation, occupation and despair that have frustrated the hopes and destroyed the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians." Bishop Ricard, in a statement released Nov. 12, said he hoped Arafat's death would not "fuel renewed violence and retaliation." He said, "We pray that the loss of the Palestinian people encourages them to embrace opportunities for democratic renewal and a sustained commitment to peace with justice."

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