Solidarity and prayer were expressed to the Christian community of Gaza by the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Right Rev. Patrick Kelly, Vice-President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. In a letter sent to the parish priest of Gaza, Msgr. Manuel Musallam, on 21 June, Archbishop Kelly, who led a group of European and North American bishops of the Coordination of the Bishops’ Conferences in support of the Church of the Holy Land on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in January this year, recalls “the vibrant faith of the Christians of the Gaza Strip and underlines his determination to accompany our brothers in the Holy Land with prayer and reflection”. Writing on behalf of all the Catholics of England, the Archbishop of Liverpool says he was struck by the glaring contradiction between the “images of the children of Gaza who welcomed us so festively during our visit and the scenes of violence, fear and grief of the present time”. He prays that “the peace of God” may descend “on our brothers in Christ” in Gaza.
