Ordinaries of the Holy Land meet in Bethlehem

Among those present were the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, four of his Vicars, Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo (Nazareth), Bishop William Shomali (Jerusalem), Father Evenzio Herrera-Diaz (Cyprus), Father David Neuhaus (Hebrew speakers), as well as Emeritus Patriarch Michel Sabbah and Emeritus Bishop Kamal Bathish, Greek Catholic Archbishops Joseph Zreyi (Jerusalem) and Yasser al-Ayyash (Amman), Maronite Archbishop Moussa al-Hage, Syrian Catholic Bishop Pierre Melki, Armenian Exarch Joseph Kelikiyan, Chaldean Vicar, Father Raymond Mousalli and the Apostolic Nuncio in Jordan Archbishop Giorgio Lingua and the Charge d'Affaires in Jerusalem, Mgr. Waldemar Sommertag. The meeting was coordinated by the Secretary of the Assembly, Father Pietro Felet.

Among the subjects for discussion during this assembly were:

- The activities of the Justice and Peace Commission

- Feedback from international meetings on pilgrimage, families (Milan) and the Eucharist (Dublin)

- A program for the Year of Faith that begins on October 11, 2012 throughout the Catholic Church.

- A meeting with representatives of Caritas, the philanthropic association, from Amman, Jerusalem and Nicosia.

The ordinaries also prayed Vespers with the Bethlehem Carmelite Sisters and visited the Christ the King bookshop in Beit Sahour.

The meeting ended earlier than usual to permit the Ordinaries to set off for Beirout where they will welcome the Holy Father.

The next assembly will take place in Jerusalem, next March 2013.