Goa Church laments less Christians in Israel

June 12, 2012: The Catholic Church in the Indian state of Goa has lamented the shrinking number of Christians in Israel. "Our concern is for the extreme reduction in the number of Christians in the Holy Land. The Holy Land is, after all, the cradle of our faith - as well as that of our sisters and brothers who are Jews and Muslims," said Father Maverick Fernandes, executive secretary of the Council of Social Justice and Peace (CSJP).
The social arm of the Church in Goa made the observation on Monday in a letter to the Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre and Kairos, Palestine. The letter, which was released to the media, expressed "solidarity from Goa to our sisters and brothers who suffer under Israeli occupation and still struggle in dignity for their liberation."

It called on Christians there to "remain strong and empowered enough to withstand the compulsions which the occupation enforces on them and reverse the patterns of emigration". The priest said they were appalled to hear of “Israel's punitive and discriminating actions that have resulted in massive deprivation of human rights and in failing humanitarian standards.”