by Anne-Marie Clements

Hope was at the heart of the Holy Land Coordination’s visit to Jerusalem in January of this year. There was hope that the fragile ceasefire, which was announced during the group’s travels, would hold. Hope that this ceasefire would amount to more than just a temporary pause in hostilities and instead mark the beginning of a genuine and lasting peace process for all who call Israel and Palestine home. Hope that the presence and witness of the Christian Church in the Holy Land may shine as a beacon of light in the darkness.

As a delegate of the Holy Land Coordination, I had the honour of travelling to Jerusalem on behalf of Justice & Peace Scotland, accompanying Archbishop William Nolan as he met with other bishops from across Europe for their annual visit.

The Holy Land Coordination (HLC) is a yearly meeting of bishops, mandated by the Holy See, that is defined by ‘four Ps’ – Presence, Prayer, Pilgrimage, and Pressure. The bishops, joined by representatives from their associated episcopal conferences and various Christian organisations, go to be present with the Christians who still remain in the Holy Land, to let them know they are not forgotten; to pray with them; to encourage pilgrimage to their land; and to advocate on their behalf at home. The Coordination exists to act in solidarity with region’s Christian communities and share in the pastoral life of the local Church as it experiences extreme political and social-economic pressure. Above all, the mission of the HLC is to reassure the ‘living stones’, that is the Christians of the Holy Land, that they are not forgotten by their brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.

Christians of the Holy Land

Christians in the Holy Land call themselves the ‘living stones’ as an affirmation that they are the remnants of the first Christian communities of the early Church established some 2,000 years ago. Just like the ancient stone buildings that commemorate the places associated with the life of Christ, these real ‘living stones’ evidence the unbroken link between their ancestors in the first Christian communities, established when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles at Pentecost, and the Christian communities still present in Palestine, Israel and the surrounding areas today. These Christian families, therefore, have remained in the Holy Land for generations and thus have a unique responsibility for maintaining Christian life and presence in the place where Jesus was born, crucified, and rose from the dead.

Anne-Marie Clements is the Catholic Social Teaching Engagement Officer at Justice & Peace Scotland. Prior to travelling with the Holy Land Coordination she had visited the region twice and in 2022 researched her master’s dissertation on tourism and Christian pilgrimage to Palestine and Israel from the UK.

Justice & Peace Scotland is the operating name of the National Justice and Peace Commission. It is a Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland. J&P Scotland educates, advocates, and campaigns on issues related to peace and non-violence, human rights, social justice, poverty, and care for creation: locally, nationally and internationally. All its work is carried out in accordance with gospel values and Catholic Social Teaching.

Links:

For more information on Justice & Peace Scotland, visit: Justice & Peace Scotland > Home

You can find out more about the HLC, including reading and downloading their Final Communique released at the end of the visit, at: Holy Land Co-ordination.

To learn more about and support Daoud and Tent of Nations at: Home | Tent of Nations.

Photo of Anne Marie and Daoud by Marcin Mazur, CBCEW