ecumenism" "
A letter has been sent to the leaders of all the Churches of Jerusalem to assure the Christians of the Holy Land of the support of the Churches of England. The letter has been signed by the leaders of the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Reformed Churches, gathered together in the ecumenical organization “Churches together in Britain and Ireland”. On behalf of the Catholic Church, the letter was signed by Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow, vice-president of the Conference of Scottish Bishops, and by Msgr. David Konstant, head of the international Department of the English Bishops’ Conference. In their letter, the Churches say they share with the Christians of the Holy Land their sense of the aggravation of the situation in Jerusalem and reaffirm their conviction that “Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian territories remains a conditio sine qua non for the re-establishment of peace and security for everyone”. The Churches also consider that “the construction of the wall of separation or security fence poses serious limitations to many aspects of Palestinian life”. They note that the wall would involve a population of approximately 210,000 persons, making it effectively impossible for them to gain access to places of work, schools and hospitals.
