Bishops Meeting in Jerusalem

ROME, JAN. 7, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The annual meeting of bishops of episcopal conferences of a number of countries with participants in the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land will be held in Jerusalem starting Saturday.

The purpose of the meeting, which will be presided over by Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic delegate in the Holy City, is to promote solidarity with the Holy Land's Christian community, and to share the pastoral life of the local Church.

Among those attending the meeting will include bishops from Canada, the United States, England and Wales, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

This Saturday, the bishops will participate in a children's ecumenical Christmas celebration in Bethlehem's Basilica of the Nativity, according to the Spanish episcopal conference. Some 1,000 children of the eastern area will also attend.

Scheduled for Sunday are a series of pastoral visits to parishes of Jerusalem and the eastern area, such as Ramallah, in which the participants will attend the celebration of Mass with the local communities.

The working sessions run Monday through Thursday. The first sessions will focus on the situation in Israel and Palestine with the help of experts and politicians from both communities.