Baltimore cardinal sees hope for Israeli-Palestinian peace

Published: 2005-01-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore said Jan. 12 he sees "a new opportunity" for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. "The time for bold new leadership is now," he said at the National Press Club in Washington during a press conference sponsored by the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East. "Israel has embarked on a plan to withdraw from some of the occupied territories. The Palestinians have elected a new president. And our own nation's president is about to begin his second term," Cardinal Keeler said. "These events create a new opportunity to work for a peaceful and just resolution of this long conflict that has inflicted terrible suffering on both Palestinians and Israelis," he said. Cardinal Keeler is episcopal moderator for Catholic-Jewish relations in the United States, and has been a participant in Christian-Jewish and Christian-Muslim dialogues. As a member of the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East, he was joined by Jewish, Muslim and other Christian religious leaders.

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