Bishops to Christians in Holy
Land: You are not forgotten
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| Image of Jerusalem - Holy Land. |
The Holy Land co-ordination group is making its annual visit
this week in solidarity with the Christians of Israel and Palestine.
By Lydia O’Kane
For over 20 years the Holy Land Co-ordination Group has been
visiting this region to shine a light on the challenges Christians face and to
tell them they are not alone and not forgotten. This year the Bishops are based
in the city of Haifa and are taking part in inter-faith encounters as well as
meetings with local politicians and visits to Christians school and hospitals.
Challenges and opportunities
The theme for this year is ‘Christians in Israel;
challenges and opportunities’. Someone who understands well the challenges
of this minority Christian community is Bishop Declan Lang, chair of the Holy
Land Co-ordination Group. Asked about the changes he has noted during his
visits here down through the years, he says, “I think the positive changes, and
there continue to be changes, are the work that’s being done by people in
education and healthcare… that continues to be a very impressive sign of hope.
The disappointment I think, still is that there is political deadlock and
there’s still a great deal of mistrust I think, between the different
communities particularly between the Arab community and the Israeli or the
Jewish community”.
One thing the co-ordination group has become more aware of
this year is the outlook of the Arab Christian community who want to play a
part in the development of the country, but as the Bishop notes, “feel
prevented, as other groups do, particularly by the nation state bill that has
been through the Knesset” (Israeli Parliament) which implies, he adds, but is not
actually explicit, “that they are second rate citizens, and this they find very
difficult.”
Dialogue between communities
Over the years projects and initiatives have been promoted
that encourage dialogue between communities. “That dialogue” emphasizes Bishop
Lang, “is still taking place, it’s mainly done amongst small groups; I
think it’s got a firm foundation, but I think it’s still being done by groups
that are quite small in number; it needs to expand”.
Christians in the Holy Land
According to statistics, the Christian population 60 years
ago in Bethlehem and the surrounding villages was around 86% but, in the last
few years that number has dipped to 12%. Bishop Lang says that on this visit,
“the Christian community we’ve become more aware of this year round is a very
varied community. Up here in Galilee where we haven’t been for quite a few
years, the Christian community is a more prosperous community than it is
elsewhere, but they do have this fear that they’re not regarded as people of
this own country; that it’s not their country…”
For Bishop Lang, these visits to the Holy Land are about
hope and standing in solidarity with Christian brothers and sisters so that,
“when we return to our own countries, we are able to share with the people of
the different countries of which we have come the situation of the Christians
here in the Holy Land and to say to the people of this land you are not
forgotten, because sometimes they do feel forgotten.”
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