On Thursday 7 January, the Bishops will visit the small Christian community in Gaza, celebrating mass at the parish of the Holy Family; they will then meet with parishioners, visit the school of the Holy Rosary Sisters and various other projects helping people to rebuild their lives following the most recent conflict in 2014.

The Bishops are returning for the third consecutive year during which time the conflict of 2014 led to the deaths of over 2,000 Gazans – including over 500 children and a third of the population internally displaced. The Christian community is made up of 2,500 people, of whom Catholics number around 200.

Bethlehem

The Bishops will then return to Bethlehem where they will celebrate mass and visit the Christian community of Beit Jala, who have suffered the loss of land and livelihood following the annexation of their property and the building of a Separation Wall in the Cremisan Valley.

Jordan

The focus of the remainder of the visit will be Jordan and the refugees who have been forced out of their homes as a result of the ongoing conflict in Syria and Iraq. The United Nations puts the total number of refugees currently in Jordan at just over one million people, the vast majority of whom are Syrian. The Bishops will arrive in Jordan on 10 January, leaving on 14 January.

The Holy Land Coordination was set up at the invitation of the Holy See at the end of the last century to offer support to the local Christian communities of the Holy Land. For the past 15 years the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales have organised the visit and this year the Co-ordination will be led by Bishop Declan Lang, Bishop of Clifton.

Bishops of the Holy Land Coordination 2016

England and Wales – Bishop Declan Lang
Canada – Bishop Lionel Gendron
France – Bishop Michel Dubost
Germany – Bishop Thomas Renz
Ireland – Bishop John McAreavey
Italy – Bishop Rodolfo Cetoloni
Scandinavia – Bishop Peter Burcher
Scotland – Bishop William Nolan
South Africa – Archbishop Stephen Brislin
Spain – Archbishop Joan Vives
Switzerland – Bishop Felix Gmur
United States of America – Bishop Oscar Cantu
Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community – Bishop William Kenney
Church of England – Bishop Christopher Chessun

Background

The Holy Land Coordination, made up of bishops from across Europe, North America and South Africa, was set up at the end of the twentieth century at the invitation of the Holy See. The purpose was to visit and support the local Christian communities of the Holy Land.

The Coordination’s main remit has been expressed as ‘the 3 Ps’: Prayer, Pilgrimage and Pressure. Perhaps there could be a fourth P: Presence. The bishops are present every year, and by their presence they hope, above all else, to remind the “living stones” of the Christian communities in the Holy Land that they are not forgotten by their brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.

The Coordination is not seen by the Holy See or its members as a fund-raising or project-based body, although considerable development investment and growth in pilgrimages have developed directly as a result of the bishops’ visits.

Prayer is the framework of the annual meeting, with daily celebration of the Eucharist, often in different rites, and in some years it has involved celebration in common of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Pilgrimage is one of the most interesting and informative aspects of the annual meeting. Bishops go either individually or in groups to visit Catholic communities and share in their Sunday liturgy, meeting members of the local community and sometimes local political figures. In difficult times, the visiting bishops have often heard pleas for more pilgrims to come from their home countries, and there has been a concerted and successful effort on the part of bishops’ conferences to encourage pilgrimages.

Pressure, a softer version of which might be Persuasion, refers to the work to be done after the annual meeting, when bishops go home and speak to their own governments, parliamentarians, Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors and the media about a wide range of issues affecting the lives of Christians.

In line with the approach the Holy See adopts everywhere else, the bishops do not seek privileges for Christians, but dignity and justice for them and for others in similar conflicts.

This year’s meeting will focus on the situation of vulnerable Christians especially those who have been forced to flee their homeland and seek shelter elsewhere. The Coordination will also continue to focus on the situation in Gaza and issues around the Cremisan Valley. The Coordination will also visit the Local Church in Jordan.

The Holy Land Co-ordination’s annual meeting is taking place in Bethlehem and Jordan from 9 – 14 January 2016 with a pre-Coordination visit to Gaza from 7 – 8 January.

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Cardinal Nichols said:

“Many of our Catholic parishes will hold an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament at exactly the time when Pope Francis is meeting the Christian communities in Bethlehem itself.

“I do encourage you, please, to use that hour on Sunday 25 May – the hour between 3 o’clock and 4 o’clock in prayer – so that we are in absolute solidarity with Pope Francis and with the Christians of Bethlehem as they meet together.”

The Cardinal also spoke of the importance of supporting the Pope’s mission and of “praying for peace” in the Holy Land.

The Pope’s three day visit to the Holy Land begins on Saturday 24 May – the intense programme includes a visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

Pope Francis will encounter the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Jerusalem – a meeting which will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagorus. They will sign a joint declaration and then preside at an ecumenical prayer service at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre together with other Christian leaders.

The ecumenical dimension of this visit is central so Anglican churches across England and Wales will also follow the call from Friends of the Holy Land to hold an hour of prayer to coincide with the exact time that Pope Francis is meeting with Christian families in the Holy Land.

About the visit, Chair of the Department for Dialogue and Unity, Archbishop Bernard Longley said:

“The meeting of Pope Francis later this month in the Holy Land with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew marks a very significant step on the road to Christian unity.

“This year sees the 50th anniversary of the two great documents of Vatican II on ecumenism and inter-religious relations ‘Unitatis Redintegratio’ and ‘Nostra Aetate’.

“This meeting will mark the 50th anniversary of the meeting of Pope Paul VI, soon to be beatified, with Patriarch Athenagoras which paved the way for the Catholic Church’s commitment to dialogue with the Byzantine Orthodox Churches. The forthcoming meeting should have a similarly encouraging and inspiring impact on our relations and our dialogue at national and international levels today.

“I hope that the Holy Father and Patriarch Bartholomew will draw attention to the struggling Christian communities of the Holy Land. I am delighted that many of our parishes will pray in solidarity with Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch on the afternoon of Sunday 25th May. I am also grateful for all that the Friends of the Holy Land have been doing to highlight this important visit and ecumenical encounter.”

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You can download the official prayer by using the link in the top right-hand corner of this article.

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In his letter, Prince El Hassan bin Talal reinforces the fundamental role Christians play in the region:

“In short, Christians aren’t simply part of the Middle East’s rich religious patrimony, but an integral part of its history, its culture, and its civilization”

Prince Hassan also offers his thoughts on the way forward:

“Perhaps we should start thinking less and doing more. Perhaps instead of speaking of ‘understanding’ and ‘coexistance’ we should begin, quite simply, by working together with each other towards common goals in our local communities?

“In Education and Charity why can we not work together? Who wants to see Jerusalem in the state it is in today? The human face of Christianty, of Islam, or Judaism so often remains hidden – but each in simplicity and silence is in a way undeniable, and greatly needed.”

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Prince Hassan of Jordan’s letter 3.42 MB

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The Archbishop was in Jordan for the 2006 meeting of the Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land. The Co-ordination is made up of representatives from Catholic Bishops’ Conferences from across Europe and North America, representing countries which have been involved in the history of the Holy Land.

The overall aim of the Co-ordination is to act in solidarity with the Christian community in the Holy Land, through the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, and to share in the pastoral life of the local Church as it experiences intense political and social-economic pressure.

“We made a great step forward this year as the Co–ordination was concerned with the entire Holy Land and visited Jordan for the first time”, said Archbishop Patrick Kelly. “Already we have had the chance to visit young people and parishes in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah and other towns.”

King Abdullah II of Jordan, in a warm message to the Holy Land Co-ordination, emphasised that he was a brother and a friend. He clearly stated that he wanted to work closely with the Co-ordination in pursuing peace, as he was convinced of the need for a Christian presence across all of the Holy Land.

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