West Bank Christian children visit Bethlehem, rally for peace

Published: 2006-01-17

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) -- Living under difficult conditions, including checkpoints, roadblocks and political and economic instability, Christian children were able to have fun, march for peace and visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Because of these conditions, many children do not have opportunities to feel free and celebrate, Rosary Sister Rosaria Reshet said. "I was praying to God to give these children more love and more peace and more joy," said Sister Rosaria, who accompanied a group of children from the West Bank village of Aboud on the second annual "Journey to Bethlehem" arranged by the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation. "I was so excited to see how children, who all the time have problems, now I could see joy on their faces," she said. Some 1,050 Christian children, ages 8-10, from 13 West Bank towns and villages arrived in Bethlehem for a day of fun and special activities Jan. 14. For some it was their first time seeing the Church of the Nativity.

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