Subscribe to this RSS feed
April 22, 2020

East Jerusalem Catholic hospital gets coronavirus unit for Palestinians

A nurse wears a protective suit while taking the temperature of a Palestinian boy in a special tent for pediatric and maternity COVID-19 patients at St. Joseph's Hospital in East Jerusalem April 16, 2020.

JERUSALEM -- When the Israeli Ministry of Health asked St. Joseph's Hospital to set up a coronavirus unit, the hospital had it completed within a week.

Published in International
May 27, 2019

Catholic bishops lament setbacks for Holy Land peace, but call for a better path

Arch in Golgotha chapel, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM (CNA) -- Peace, mutual equality, and respect must be the foundation of progress in Israeli-Palestinian relations, despite continued setbacks, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land said this week.

Published in International
April 9, 2019

Family tradition: Carrying the cross on Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa

Mousa Kamar, front right, and his son, Youssef, far left corner, carry the large wooden cross during the Good Friday procession on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City March 25, 2016. Mousa Kamar and his sons are carrying on the tradition of his grandfather and father, carrying the cross on Good Friday.

JERUSALEM - For four decades, Mousa Kamar has taken his place at the head of the heavy wooden cross used during the Franciscan Good Friday procession on the Via Dolorosa.

Published in International
January 16, 2019

Bishops see 'incomprehensible complexity' of Holy Land conflict during visit

Bishops from North America, Europe and South Africa visit the UNRWA camp and school in Jenin, West Bank. The visit was part of the annual Holy Land Coordination.
JERUSALEM – Visiting with Christian communities in northern Israel and the northern Palestinian Territories has helped bishops participating in the annual Holy Land Coordination see "the great need" to promote an understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, said Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor, Ireland.
Published in International
November 8, 2018

Jerusalem Equestrian Order supports Holy Land Catholics, encourages dialogue

U.S. Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien, grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, arrive for a press conference at the Vatican Nov. 7. The Knights are preparing for a major meeting in Rome.
VATICAN – The 30,000 members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem fund about 80 percent of the annual budget of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ensuring that Catholic parishes and seminaries, schools and hospitals in Israel, Palestine and Jordan continue to function, said U.S. Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien.
Published in International
November 7, 2018

Catholic leaders in Holy Land ask Israel to repeal controversial law

Jesuit Father David Neuhaus lights a baptismal candle during a Mass for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel in 2014.
JERUSALEM – The controversial Israeli Nation State law must be repealed because non-Jews also are citizens of Israel, said the Catholic ordinaries of the Holy Land.
Published in International
May 24, 2018

Gazans more desperate than ever after border clashes, says CRS official

The brother of Palestinian Shaher al-Madhoon, who was killed during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border, reacts over his body May 14 at a hospital morgue in Gaza.
JERUSALEM – Already in a precarious state, Gaza's health system faces a medical emergency, with more than 1,000 people injured in the recent Gaza border demonstrations that flared up since March 30.
Published in International
May 22, 2018

Violence on Israel-Gaza border prompts calls for prayers, dialogue and investigation

A relative mourns during the funeral of eight-month-old Palestinian Laila al-Ghandour, who died after inhaling tear gas during a May 15 protest against the U.S embassy move to Jerusalem.

With at least 60 killed and over 2,700 injured, Canadian Catholics can’t just shrug and say the violence on the Israel-Gaza border is not their problem.

Published in International
May 16, 2018

Pope expresses concern about 'spiral of violence' in Holy Land

A relative mourns during the funeral of 8-month-old Palestinian Laila al-Ghandour, who died after inhaling tear gas at the Israel-Gaza border during a May 15 protest against the U.S embassy move to Jerusalem.CNS photo/Mohammed Salem, Reuters
VATICAN – Warning that violence will never bring peace, Pope Francis urged all sides to do all they can to foster dialogue in the Middle East.
Published in International
May 16, 2018

Jerusalem archbishop calls for prayers for peace as violence increases

Mourners carry the body of 8-month-old Palestinian Laila al-Ghandour, who died after inhaling tear gas at the Israel-Gaza border during a May 15 protest against the U.S embassy move to Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM – As the world witnesses "another outburst of hatred and violence, which is once again bleeding all over the Holy Land," the head of Jerusalem's Latin Patriarchate called for prayers for peace.
Published in International
May 14, 2018

Dozens killed in protests as U.S. embassy inaugurated in Jerusalem

A wounded Palestinian is evacuated at the Israel-Gaza border during a protest against the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem May 14.
JERUSALEM – As the new United States embassy was inaugurated in Jerusalem May 14, violence broke out between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers.
Published in International
March 25, 2018

Editorial: Hope for the Holy Land

Men carry a large wooden cross during a procession on the Via Dolorosa, "The Way of Sorrow," the path believed to be taken by Jesus Christ to his crucifixion on Calvary, on Good Friday April 14, 2017, in Jerusalem's Old City.

Pope Paul V was a controversial leader in turbulent times. His biography cites a fondness for luxury, penchant for nepotism and persecution of Galileo, but also lauds his completion of St. Peter’s Basilica, contributions to education and the arts, encouragement of New World missionaries and the canonization St. Charles Borromeo.

Published in Editorial
February 28, 2018

Christianity's holiest site caught in tax protest

Tourists pray outside the locked doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Feb. 26 in Jerusalem's Old City. Protesting several recent actions they described as a "systematic campaign against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land," the heads of Christian churches announced Feb. 25 they were closing of the doors of the church.
JERUSALEM – Christian leaders in the Holy Land reopened the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Feb. 28 after the Israeli government set up a negotiating team to resolve a municipal dispute over property taxes.
Published in International
February 26, 2018

Mideast Christian leaders shut Church of Holy Sepulchre to protest taxes

Tourists pray outside the locked doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Feb. 26 in Jerusalem's Old City. Protesting several recent actions they described as a "systematic campaign against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land," the heads of Christian churches announced Feb. 25 they were closing of the doors of the church.
JERUSALEM – Protesting several recent actions they described as a "systematic campaign ... against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land," the heads of Christian churches announced Feb. 25 they were closing of the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for an undisclosed period of time.
Published in International
February 19, 2018

Christian leaders in Jerusalem protest plan to tax church properties

A monk walks outside Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 2013.
JERUSALEM – The heads and patriarchs of Christian churches in Jerusalem strongly denounced the city of Jerusalem's plan to force churches to pay property taxes.
Published in International
Page 1 of 5