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“Ecumenism in Jerusalem; religious freedom in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories; the work of the Permanent Bilateral Committee between the Holy See and the State of Israel; inter-religious dialogue with Islam and Hebraism”: these are some of the points on the agenda of the yearly visit to the Holy Land for the bishops of the Coordination of the Bishops Conference in support of the Church of the Holy Land and the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land (Hlc 2011), due to take place in Jerusalem from 9th to 13th January, about “the Catholic Church in the Middle East: communion and testimony”. The delegation, composed of about thirty European and North-American bishops and leaders of Bishops Conferences and ecclesial bodies in the Holy Land, will start its meeting with a pilgrimage on the banks of the Jordan on January 9th and a visit to Jericho, where they will meet the local community. Later on, during the meeting, they will also discuss such issues as “education to dialogue in Jewish and Palestinian schools; charity: a tool of dialogue and testimony; the life of consecrated people in the Holy Land and pilgrims: a tool of peace and reconciliation”. The Council of European Bishops Conferences (Ccee) will be represented by the metropolitan archbishop of Tirana-Durres, mgr. Rrok Mirdita, president of the Albanian Bishops Conference. Participants will include the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, mgr. Antonio Franco, apostolic nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, and father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custodian of the Holy Land. The Coordination (Hlc) was established in 1998, after the US Bishops Conference asked the European Bishops Conferences to share their commitment in support of the Church in the Holy Land. Since 1998, the Hlc has made one visit of solidarity a year.

© SIR - jenuary, 7th 2011