WASHINGTON—Calling for dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, representatives of Catholic bishops’ conferences from North America and Europe, including Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, gathered in Jerusalem and appealed for “tolerance and courageous leadership, able to show forgiveness and humility, to promote peaceful co-existence” in a statement to mark the annual gathering of the Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land.
“Political leaders of both sides and our own countries need to show courage, resolve and creativity so the simple hopes of the majority for peaceful co-existence are realized,” the bishops said in the January 12 statement. “The fidelity to their way of life of Jews, Christians, and Muslims should always be such that there is deep-seated openness to others.”
The bishops have gathered in the Holy Land since 1998 as a show of support for the Christian community there.
“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.
“A defining theme we heard throughout our visit was the increasing urgency to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Bishop Kicanas said. “It is incumbent on the United States and the international community to prod the two parties to negotiate a two-state solution, which is the hope of a majority of Israelis and Palestinians, indeed of all the international community.”
Click here for full text of the statement
Copyright © 2011 by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops