The Second Jerusalem Summit of Catholic Ordinaries concluded last Thursday and was attended by delegates from Catholic Bishop Conferences from England and Wales, the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, Commission of Bishop’s Conferences of the European Community, and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences. His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, hosted the summit. The president of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, Sir Rateb Rabie, Deacon Tom and Jane Fox Co-chairs of the San Antonio, Texas Holy Land Christian Support Network Committee, participated in the conference.
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation*
News Release
The Second Jerusalem Summit of Catholic Ordinaries concluded last Thursday and was attended by delegates from Catholic Bishop Conferences from England and Wales, the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, Commission of Bishop’s Conferences of the European Community, and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences. His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, hosted the summit. The president of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, Sir Rateb Rabie, Deacon Tom and Jane Fox Co-chairs of the San Antonio, Texas Holy Land Christian Support Network Committee, participated in the conference.
The summit participants issued a call for renewed international advocacy for peace in the Holy Land. The bishops plan to increase contacts between their conferences and the Church in the Holy Land. The coordination of activities, communication, and policy on partnerships and child sponsorship between all the conferences will be strengthened. The work of the Summit will be extended to a wider circle of Bishops’ Conferences.
HCEF reported to the summit participants the success achieved for the Child Sponsorship Program, Partnership Program, Handicraft Program, and Advocacy Program as a result of the endorsement of these HCEF programs by the United States Council of Catholic bishops. Sir Rateb said, “The greatest success occurred when solidarity developed between Christians in the Holy Land and Christians in the United States through HCEF efforts.
HCEF proposed three programs to the bishops. 1. HCEF assist Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in Europe and Canada to develop church-to-church partnerships between their parishes and churches in the Holy Land. 2. HCEF sponsor an ecumenical pilgrimage of American, Canadian, and European parishioners and members of the various bishops’ conferences to coincide with the Third Summit of Catholic Ordinaries in January 2004. 3. HCEF assists in sponsoring a conference on the Christians in the Holy Land in the respective countries represented by the bishops.
While Sir Rateb was in the Holy Land, he and George Ghattas, HCEF Country Representative in the Holy Land, opened the HCEF office in Bethlehem. Christmas gifts were distributed to children attending Orthodox and Melkite churches. Sir Rateb met with artisans in Bethlehem and visited a number of parishes to determine the needs of the population in order to focus HCEF’s fundraising efforts on his return to the United States.
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*The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization 501 (c) 3, committed to improving the lives of Christians in the Holy Land through building bonds of solidarity with between Christians in the United States and Christians in the Holy Land. We have two goals: inform Americans about the Christians in the Holy Land and provide humanitarian assistance for the needy in the land where Jesus Christ was born, preached, died and rose again. HCEF, 6935 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 214, Bethesda, MD 20815 (301) 951-9400, Toll Free (866) 871-4233 (HCEF), www.hcef.org Email: news@hcef.org
