EUROPE/SWITZERLAND - “We must take care of the brothers and sisters in the faith living in the land of Jesus Christ where Christianity was born” say Bishops of Switzerland calling Swiss Catholic to be generous in giving to the Holy Week collection which this year will go to help Christians in the Holy Land l Mar 2004 EUROPE/SWITZERLAND Friburg (Fides Service)

EUROPE/SWITZERLAND - “We must take care of the brothers and sisters in the faith living in the land of Jesus Christ where Christianity was born” say Bishops of Switzerland calling Swiss Catholic to be generous in giving to the Holy Week collection which this year will go to help Christians in the Holy Land

Friburg (Fides Service) - In a Pastoral Letter for Lent the Bishops of Switzerland called on the Swiss Catholic to be generous in giving to the Holy Week collection which this year will go to help Christians in the Holy Land in support of various projects of solidarity. “Every day the television and newspapers are full of sad reports from the Holy Land. We are moved and yet we too build barriers to keep our sentiments at bay. We could never bear the suffering imposed on the men and women of Palestine. This daily terrifying news is too much and we turn a deaf ear. We withdraw with resignation and resignation then turns to apathy” the Bishops say in the message.

“Whenever there is a glimpse of hope another blow is dealt…We hear also of persecution and suffocation of the Christian faith. And yet there are still Christians living in the Holy Land and their presence is not useless. In this hopeless situation they strive to kindle hope: forgiveness, pardon, love of neighbour ” the letter says.

“We must take care of the brothers and sisters in the faith living in the land of Jesus Christ where Christianity was born” the Bishops say, and they mention some of the projects sponsored by the Church in Switzerland for example “Grace House“ in Haifa which has been a haven for many people in Galilee for over 20 years.

“The Holy Week Collection is an opportunity for Swiss Catholics to make a concrete act of solidarity to help these brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, as well as prayers, pilgrimages to the Holy Places, personal contact using the modern means of communications, are little ways to calm the explosive situation in the Middle East” the Bishops write and they encourage all Catholics to reach out to help the many Christian families anxious to receive a sign of love and communion “a sign of our shared hope and Easter joy for the Resurrection of Our Lord.”

(MS) (Agenzia Fides, 1/3/2004 - 24 righe, 326 parole)