EU, American bishops appeal for peace in Holy Land

(January 13, 2013) Catholic Bishops from North America and Europe concluded their annual visit to the Holy Land on Thursday launching a passionate appeal for dialogue, tolerance, justice and peace in the region. During the 4-day trip, the 9 bishops who form the Holy Land Coordination group visited the Gaza Strip and addressed Israelis and Palestinians. “While the faith we see in the Christians of the Holy Land is an inspiration to all, we have heard repeatedly and have seen ourselves that occupation and insecurity, fear and frustration dominate the life of people across this land,” the bishops said in a closing statement at the group's annual meeting in Jerusalem. “Blaming the other is an abdication of responsibility and a failure of leadership, a leadership that the people so desperately need. We have heard and we make this conviction our own: to be pro-Israeli has to mean being pro-Palestinian. This means being pro-justice for all, whose certain fruit is lasting peace.” Welcoming the resumption of discussions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the bishops added that “dialogue is threatened and undermined by extremism and intolerance of the other. They appealed for tolerance and courageous leadership that is able to show forgiveness and humility, and promote peaceful co-existence. The alternative to negotiation would be renewed violence and that would be tragic for all the people in the Holy Land, they warned.