Expressions of solidarity with the Christian communities living in the Holy Land were pronounced by the bishops of Switzerland in the final communiqué released at the end of their oridinary assembly held from 4 to 6 March. The bishops were updated on the situation in the Middle East by Msgr. Pierre Bürcher, on his return from a trip to the area made with other bishops at the invitation of the local Churches in Jerusalem. “We need to recognize say the bishops in their communiqué that the very presence of the Christian communities in the region is threatened by the gravity of the current conflict and the economic devastation that this situation is causing. Now, when one Church is in danger, the whole Church is involved“. The Swiss bishops encourage “every possible peace effort that may be undertaken, at all levels”. “No one they add can or should remain insensible to the injustice that the Palestinian people are suffering due to the occupation, in total contradiction of the resolutions of the UNO. The escalation of terrorism does nothing but aggravate the situation. The resolution of the conflict can only be achieved by the recognition of the right of both states, Palestinian and Israeli, to exist”. In their communiqué, the Swiss bishops also announce that the donations collected on Good Friday will be devolved to the population of the Holy Land. In the course of their assembly they also tackled the question of abortion in the light of the upcoming elections on 2 June. In the course of a press conference to be held in Bern on 16 April, the bishops will spell out their position. Meanwhile, the recently established “bioethics work group” was united with the theological Commission of the Episcopal Conference. This group has the task of monitoring the development of scientific knowledge in this field and “formulating stances”.
