Bishops Urge US to Help in Gaza

(January 2, 2009) The chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace is calling for a high-level U.S. representative to be sent to the Middle East to help negotiate peace between Israel and Hamas. This appeal came in a letter Tuesday from Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, New York, to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "The rocket attacks on Israel must be stopped, and Israel's military attacks on Gaza halted," the bishop wrote. “We ask you to urge the president to send a high-level personal representative to the region immediately to help negotiate a ceasefire and make provision for humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza." "The toll in human deaths and suffering, the negative effects on progress in negotiations for peace and the risks of wider war caused by this escalation of violence cannot be allowed to continue," Bishop Hubbard exhorted. "Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has called on the international community to help Israelis and Palestinians to discard the 'dead end' of violence and pursue instead 'the path of dialogue and negotiations.' Immediate, visible and decisive U.S. leadership is urgently needed." The prelate lamented that at a time when Christians' attention is "drawn naturally to the birthplace of the Prince of Peace." "A ceasefire and humanitarian relief are indispensable initial steps on the road to a two-state solution -- a secure Israel living in peace with a viable Palestinian state -- with justice and peace for both peoples," he concluded. Meanwhile, from Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, archbishop of Armagh, joined his voice to that of his counterpart from the Church of Ireland, Alan Harper. They called on the authorities in both Israel and Gaza immediately to disengage and cease all hostilities to enable a permanent ceasefire to be negotiated. Only when violence has ceased will it be possible to begin to negotiate a peace that will last." The Christian leaders called for "all people of faith to pray for all caught up in the conflict."