The most important gesture

The 7th visit of European and American bishops to Israel and Palestine begins on 11 January (and ends on 18 January). Organized by the Coordination of the Episcopal Conferences in support of the Holy Land (composed of the European Bishops’ Conferences, CCEE, and the Commission of the episcopates of the European Community, COMECE, with bishops from Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA), this year’s visit includes meetings with Israeli Premier Olmert and Palestinian Premier Abu Mazen, visits to Gaza and to Nazareth. The delegation will also meet local communities and Druse, Islamic and Jewish leaders. To gain a better understanding of the aims and contents of this visit to the Holy Land, SIR interviewed the head of the delegation, Archbishop PATRICK KELLY of Liverpool, and the CCEE representative. The repeated appeals of Benedict XVI on behalf of the Holy Land, the last on 8 January, in his speech to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, make this journey one of particular actuality. What goals do you hope to achieve?“We hope to acquire an initial fund of wisdom simply by listening, observing and entering into dialogue. Our interlocutors in these meetings will be the heads of the Christian communities and, perhaps, also those of the Jewish and Muslim faiths, as well as the political leaders in the Holy Land. We will do our utmost to keep open the doors of dialogue in order to open still others. Celebrating with local Christians shows them that they are not alone. We will try to bring home with us the reassuring news that being pilgrims in the Holy Land is a blessing and to offer an accurate account of our experiences to the Holy See, to the Churches that are sending us to the Holy Land, and to those who hold political and diplomatic responsibility”. The programme also envisages visits to Gaza, now in the throws of a grave socio-economic crisis, Nazareth, and Galilee: areas of conflict with Hezbollah, places that represent the apparently insoluble crisis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of the region. What contribution can the Church make to the peace process?“That of never remaining silent in the face of violence and injustice, in absolute fidelity to the fact that God, in Christ, reconciled the world to himself”.What will you say to Israeli Premier Olmert and to Palestinian President Abbas?“First of all we must listen, only then can we speak of two suffering peoples, and of the need of social justice for all those who live in the Holy Land. We would like to underline the importance of freedom of worship and religion for everyone. We will insist on the duty to ensure that humanitarian aid be generous and unhampered”.The situation of the local Christian communities is critical and exacerbated by emigration…“Christians in the Holy Land, living stones, must be able to enjoy freedom of worship and religion. They must be known above all for their fundamental credo, their commitment to reconciliation, to justice and hence to peace. This emphasizes how important it is in the Holy Land and in the church of the Holy Sepulchre to progress along the path of prayer, repentance, understanding and dialogue at the service of the unity for which Christ prayed at the Last Supper and for which he died on Calvary. We must encourage frequent pilgrimages from every country, with visits to the Holy Places but also contacts that permit vibrant relations with these living stones”. Msgr. Fleetwood (CCEE), “restoring hope” “We are going to tell the Christians of the Holy Land that they are not forgotten, that they remain brothers and sisters of enormous importance for us. Perhaps the most important gesture of all is simply going”, says Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, representative of the CCEE in the delegation of European and American bishops due to arrive in the Holy Land on 11 January. Speaking of the Church’s contribution to the increasingly uphill struggle of the peace process in the region, Msgr. Fleetwood underlines the need to “think ever more creatively and escape from the spiral of violence. Christians must act in a peaceful way, avoiding all feelings of vengeance”. “What is most lacking, especially among the young – he says – is hope; Christians have always contributed to the well-being of everyone, not just of other Christians. Some ask themselves whether it makes any sense to educate the young for a future in a country without work, but we need especially to think of their dignity and not abandon them to despair. This implies actions at the political level of Christians who work in the European or international institutions, or in our national governments”. For her part the universal Church is not depriving the Holy Land of her concrete support through twinned parishes, projects of solidarity and meetings, “signs of esteem that enable the Christians of the Holy Land to feel themselves respected and loved”. For the future Msgr. Fleetwood hopes for “dialogue based on mutual understanding”. “The history of other conflicts – he says – teaches us that hatred is often born from fear of others. Dialogue needs time and courage, just as is happening in Northern Ireland, the proof that it’s possible, albeit slowly and with great sufferings, to get out of the closed circle of tit for tat”.