Irish Bishop: 'Suffering of Holy Land Christians must be our concern'

Mass in the Holy Family Church, Gaza, January 2016 CCO archive

Source: Irish Catholic Media Office

Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, chair of the Council for Migrants, Refugees and Justice & Peace of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference issued this statement today.

Over these days, as we anticipate the celebration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, our thoughts turn to the people of the Holy Land. These days - the highpoint of the Christian year - the fear and suffering of Christians in the Holy Land must be our concern too.

We have a duty to stand in solidarity with Christians in the Holy Land as they endure violence and potential displacement due to illegal Israeli settlements.

While the Middle East is very much in the news over recent weeks due to yet another unjust war, the suffering of the people of the West Bank has not received the attention it deserves. There, people - including Christians - continue to endure violence and attempts by Israeli settlers to drive them off their lands.

In recent days, the Parish Priest of Taybeh, the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank, has reported targeted violence against his people, including the seizure of land, attacks on property and on other forms of economic life.

Last week, privately owned land near a quarry and cement factory was seized. This comes in addition to attacks on agricultural holdings, private motor vehicles and on areas adjoining the ruins of the fifth-century Byzantine Saint George's church in the town in July of 2025.

Such a situation is not acceptable under any circumstances. Father Bashar Fawadleh, the local Parish Priest, called on Christians throughout the world to show 'not only for compassion, but solidarity'. He continued: 'Our mission is to help people remain in their land, to live with dignity, and to keep the Christian presence alive in the Holy Land. Our presence here is a living testament to the roots of Christianity- where it all began'.

Taybeh is the location of the biblical village of Ephraim, a place where Jesus and His followers went to rest just before His entry to Jerusalem and His Passion (cf John 11:54). In these days, as we turn our gaze to the suffering of Jesus, let us recall the words of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday last, Palm Sunday, when he said, "Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters!"

May these words be our own during this Holy Week and Easter, remembering in a special way the suffering Christians of the Holy Land, and people everywhere.