An invitation to equality from the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land

The clear and strong words contained in the press release issued by the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land on May 20, dictated by the political situation that shows no sign of finding solutions in the Land so dear to us.

"Righteousness and Peace will embrace each other": this is the title of the communiqué, taken from Psalm 85, a psalm that sounds like a long-awaited announcement that turns our eyes upward towards the One who can really make "righteousness… look down from heaven"(Ps 85,11)

“Reflecting on the past few decades, during which we were promised peace and reconciliation but received more hatred and oppression, corruption and demagoguery, it is time for the Churches and spiritual leaders to point to another way, to insist that all, Israelis and Palestinians, are brothers and sisters in humanity. The Churches insist that we can love one another and live together in mutual respect and equality, equal in rights and duties, in this same land,” the Catholic Ordinaries affirm, certainly echoing the recent document signed by Pope Francis and the Great Imam of Al-Azhar on the Human Brotherhood.

The communiqué continues with a lucid political analysis and a proposal opens to discussion.

“The proposal for a two-state solution has gone nowhere and is repeated to no avail. In fact, all talk of political solution seems empty rhetoric in the present situation.

Therefore, we promote a vision according to which everyone in this Holy Land has full equality, the equality befitting all men and women created equal in God’s own image and likeness. We believe that equality, whatever political solutions might be adopted, is a fundamental condition for a just and lasting peace.

We have lived together in this land in the past, why should we not live together in the future too?”

(May 2019)