JERUSALEM, Jul 30, 01 (CWNews.com) - The leader of the world's Anglicans has urged Christians living in the Holy Land to remain there despite months and years of violence and economic problems.
Anglican Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury, on a four-day visit to the Holy Land, said he was "shocked and disturbed" by the conditions he observed in the region. Palestinian Christians now make up about two percent of the three million Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, and many of their number are leaving to escape the poverty and danger.
"To the Christians in this land, we want to urge you, and it's easy for me to say this as an outsider: Stay put, make your mark but share your message with the rest of us around the world," Carey said. "The situation facing the churches is very serious. It's compounded by problems such as the economic situation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, added to by the inability to move freely," he added. "We have to remember that in a polarized situation such as this, you have division, but you also have a sharing of pain, tears, and suffering."
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
30. juli 2001