Latin patriarch of Jerusalem calls on Europe to be more involved in ME peace

(December 21, 2010) The Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem on Tuesday urged Europe to play a more crucial role in the Middle East peace process. "Europe helps us financially a lot, we ask them to be more involved if it is possible, if there is room for them, that's the question. Till now they have been excluded from the process," said Archbishop Fouad Twal while presenting his traditional Christmas message at a press conference in Jerusalem. The highest Roman Catholic authority in the Holy Land lamented the failure of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and called on Europe to take a more active role in pushing for a solution. The patriarch who is in charge of some 70,000 Roman Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus, also offered his solidarity and support to Christians in Iraq after a bloody October 31 hostage-taking incident at a Baghdad cathedral that killed over 50 people. He noted a sharp drop in the number of Christians in Iraq from about 800,000 at the time of the US-led invasion of 2003 to about 500,000 now, and hoped peace will be established there also and that some of them can return to their homes.