Education key to success of Christian communities in Holy Land

An international meeting of Catholic bishops in Jerusalem concluded Thursday, with a press conference presenting the final message of the eleventh visit of the Holy land co-ordination, titled: “A Pledge of Prayer, A Call for Pilgrimage and A Commitment to Pursue a Just Peace”.

Michael Whelan is a knight of the Holy Sepulchre, whose responsibility it is to to inform the order’s main governing body of the progress in their projects throughout the Holy Land. He told Philippa Hitchen that education is a key to the survival of Christian communities in the land of CHrist's birth. "The area in which we are doing the most amount of work, is the education of the Christian community in the schools. If we educate Christians, then we are giving them the opportunity to take a major role in the running of their country." Whelan went on to say that such participation is essential to the continued presence of Christianity in the region as well as a key to the health of the larger society. "Perhaps," he said, "this is an aspect that some people may not appreciate," however, "for the Christian community to be fully recognized, it does need to take a major role within the administration and organization of any country in which it is represented."

Listen to Philippa Hitchen's extended interview with Michael Whelan: