Vatican City, Oct 25, 2010 / 09:29 am
In calling for a “two-state” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East has echoed the solution that Pope Benedict XVI urged on his visit to Israel last year.
“We hope that the two-state solution might become a reality and not a dream only,” the bishops said in language very similar to that used by Benedict on his trip to the Holy Land in 2009
The nearly 200 bishops participating in the two-week synod presented their final communique in a private session on Oct. 22. In addition, they gave the Pope a set of 44 proposals to consider in drawing up his own reflections on the synod, which will eventually be issued in a document known as a post-synodal apostolic exhortation.
The synod’s final message underscores the aspirations of Christians and the challenges they face in the region. And it calls on the local churches and individual Catholics to take concrete actions to ensure the future of Christianity in the Middle East.