M
Matt25
Guest
catholic-ew.org.uk/cn/06/060201b.htm
As Catholic bishops we came to the Holy Land to be in communion and solidarity with the people and the bishops of the Mother Church as we walk with them on the path to peace, justice and reconciliation…Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the Church’s mission of peace in his address to the diplomatic corps earlier this month. We echo the Holy Father’s admonition regarding the Holy Land: “There the state of Israel has to be able to exist peacefully in conformity with the norms of international law; there equally, the Palestinian people has to be able to develop serenely in its own democratic institutions for a free and prosperous future.”
Our pastoral concerns for the local Church lead us to share the fears and sufferings as well as the joys and hopes of the people. We recognise the legitimate right for Israel to take appropriate security measures, but all such measures should protect the dignity, human rights, lands and water of the Palestinian people. We have witnessed the hardship and poverty suffered by Palestinians as a direct result of checkpoints and the wall that impair economic development and freedom of movement. Security for Israel is linked to justice for Palestinians.
We do not wield political power, but we issue a moral call to public authorities to work for a just peace. Borrowing the image used by Pope John Paul II, together we must build bridges and not walls. We must work for a just peace that recognises the human rights of all: security for Israel; freedom for the Palestinians; two viable states and three faiths living side by side in peace.
As Catholic bishops we came to the Holy Land to be in communion and solidarity with the people and the bishops of the Mother Church as we walk with them on the path to peace, justice and reconciliation…Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the Church’s mission of peace in his address to the diplomatic corps earlier this month. We echo the Holy Father’s admonition regarding the Holy Land: “There the state of Israel has to be able to exist peacefully in conformity with the norms of international law; there equally, the Palestinian people has to be able to develop serenely in its own democratic institutions for a free and prosperous future.”
Our pastoral concerns for the local Church lead us to share the fears and sufferings as well as the joys and hopes of the people. We recognise the legitimate right for Israel to take appropriate security measures, but all such measures should protect the dignity, human rights, lands and water of the Palestinian people. We have witnessed the hardship and poverty suffered by Palestinians as a direct result of checkpoints and the wall that impair economic development and freedom of movement. Security for Israel is linked to justice for Palestinians.
We do not wield political power, but we issue a moral call to public authorities to work for a just peace. Borrowing the image used by Pope John Paul II, together we must build bridges and not walls. We must work for a just peace that recognises the human rights of all: security for Israel; freedom for the Palestinians; two viable states and three faiths living side by side in peace.