On the eve of the General Assembly of the United Nations, at which Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, will ask the UN Security Council to recognise Palestine as the 194th member state of the world body, Archbishop Patrick Kelly has endorsed the call from Jerusalem’s Heads of Churches for intensified prayers and diplomatic efforts for peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
Archbishop Patrick Kelly’s statement in response to Jerusalem’s Heads of Churches’ message
I have just received the statement issued by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem as once more the reality which is the Holy Land demands attention as events unfold at the United Nations.
My frequent visits to the Holy Land and countless conversations convince me that each one of us must take every opportunity to endorse the principles set out in this statement. For many years I have recommended obedience to the psalm: “For the Peace of Jerusalem pray” as an essential prayer in any searching for that justice whose fruit is lasting peace for not only the Holy Land, but the whole Middle East and indeed the whole world. This moment demands such integrity in those with power that can touch the life of the Holy Land that they approach the issues of these days setting aside personal ambition and speak and act only resolved to further the well-being of the two peoples in the Holy Land, encompassing Jews, Christians and Muslims for all of whom fidelity to God inspires aspirations touching Jerusalem.
For the Peace of Jerusalem, Pray.
+Patrick A. Kelly
Archbishop of Liverpool
Episcopal Member of the Holy Land Co-ordination
Download
Statement issued by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem (Sept 2011)
