Cardinal Vincent Nicholls and Archbishop of Dublin, Eamon Martin has just returned from the Plenary Assembly of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) which had been meeting in Galilee and Jerusalem at the invitation of His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
They also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Dr Reuven Rivlin, voicing concerns to the President Reuven over a lack of funding for Christian schools in Israel.
"They have been 'on strike' since 1st September and the children have not been having any lessons. The sustainability of their schools is critical to the well-being, identity and confidence of these Christian communities," said the archbishops in a joint statement.
"We communicated these concerns to President Rivlin when we met him. We also heard from the Latin Patriarch about the widespread dismay and exasperation at the continuing construction of the wall in the Cremisan Valley on the border between Israel and the West Bank. 58 Christian families will be separated from their lands and their means of livelihood," added the archbishops.
The presidents of the bishops' conferences of England & Wales, and Ireland, also visited the Christian communities in Nazareth, Mil'ya (a town near the Israeli-Lebanese border) and Bethlehem, to hear first-hand the experiences, "joys and sufferings" of Christian families living there.
"In Beit-Jala, at the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation, which specialises in care for disabled people, we witnessed first-hand the healing outreach of Christian people who seek to build bridges through health and education," said Nicholls and Martin.
"However at times we also sensed the isolation that Christian communities are experiencing - their fear of being neglected or even forgotten by their brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. We heard accounts of so many families who have already left because of fear or lack of confidence in a prosperous future for their children and grandchildren," they added.
The archbishops also said President Abbas and President Rivlin expressed their appreciation for the initiative and closeness of Pope Francis in their efforts to build peace.
"We were heartened to hear them both speak to us of their desires for peace. We hope that they will redouble their efforts to find a solution to the problems in the region that fully respects the right of all its peoples, Jewish, Christian and Muslim, to live together in peace," they said.
