Jan 5, 2010 / 22:11 pm
The Holy Land Coordination, an annual event intended to advance work and solidarity with the local Christian community, will meet in Jerusalem again this January. Catholic prelates and bishops’ conference delegates will make pastoral visits and meet with Palestinian and Israeli leaders while learning about the present situation of the Holy Land.
The Holy Land Coordination is mandated by the Holy See and has been organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) since 1998. Its 2010 meeting will be led by Archbishop of Liverpool Patrick Kelly.
Archbishop Kelly noted that the visit will take place between last year’s papal visit and the planned Synod on the Middle East.
“The focus will be on East Jerusalem, so we become wiser about this issue,” the archbishop said in a statement. Israel announced in late December that it would go ahead with the construction of 700 homes for Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, drawing sharp criticism from the U.S., Europe and Palestine.