Holy Land: Bishop Curry praises courage of beleaguered Christian community

Bishop Jim Curry in West Bank - Screenshot

Source: CBCEW

Bishop Jim Curry, Lead Bishop for the Holy Land for the Bishops' Conference, has offered his reflections as the Holy Land Co-ordination pilgrimage passes its halfway point.

During their visit the Bishop delegates have learned of the struggles of Bedouin tribes in the West Bank and celebrated Mass with local Christians in Palestine's only fully Christian town - Taybeh. They have listened to Jewish perspectives from groups like Rabbis for Human Rights and the Rossing Centre that advocates for interreligious peacebuilding. The group has also spent time with Hebrew-speaking Catholics at the Vicariate of St James in Jerusalem.

Many perspectives have been heard, and many experiences shared.

In a short video reflection, Bishop Curry processes what he's heard over the past two days:

'What we're discovering is that Israel and Palestine - because of the 7 October attack, the war in Gaza, and the encroachment in the West Bank - are in a state of absolute shock and trauma. Communities have been paralysed. Conversations have stopped. And yet there are still small seeds of hope because communities and individuals are trying to reach out to each other, to re-engage with each other, to begin a process of healing - not ignoring what's happened, seeking just solutions, seeking to embody the legitimate rights, both of Israel to security and safety, but also security and safety for the Palestinian people.

'Because if those two peoples don't have a mutual assurance of safety and respect, then the imbalance between them seems to promise yet more unease, more destructive behaviour, more a deterioration in the civic structure of this promised land.'

Solutions are in short supply, positions are entrenched, but Bishop Curry does recognise what true hope looks like:

'The people we've met have shown a bravery, a faithfulness, a commitment to peace that is humbling. And the challenge they've given us is how can we be part of that peace? Hope is how we live. Hope is the choices we make. Hope is the way we treat each other. Hope is how we refrain from mistreating each other. Hope is who we are. And this land of promise is full of hope, but it's a hope and a potential yet to be fully realised.'

Watch the video: https://vimeo.com/1156251707?fl=pl&fe=vl