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Having last visited the Holy Land in 2009, Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard of the Albany Diocese said he was "taken aback" on this trip by "how polarized and demoralized" the situation in the Holy Land has become.

"It seems there's not the political will on either side to move forward with a peace negotiation. Right now, there's such bitterness and cynicism and anger, it's almost a paralysis," he told The Evangelist just after his return from what 18 U.S. bishops called their "prayer pilgrimage for peace."

The group spent Sept. 11-18 visiting holy sites in Jerusalem, Galilee, Nazareth and Bethlehem, talking with residents and participating in interfaith prayer with Christians, Muslims and Jews.

People they met on the pilgrimage were "quite frank" in telling Bishop Emeritus Hubbard they believe the U.S. has taken Israel's side in the ongoing conflict in Gaza - and are frustrated at that seeming bias.

The Bishop Emeritus got a taste of what everyday life is like in the Holy Land today when he traveled with some fellow bishops to an area just minutes away that required passing through a security checkpoint. A guard there told the group that, for no apparent reason, they'd have to take another route that would take them an hour out of their way.

"It was just, 'You're not allowed,'" Bishop Emeritus Hubbard recounted.

More discouraging was learning that 800 students attending Bethlehem University who come from Jerusalem have to deal with hours of such delays at checkpoints every day: "That's the type of discouragement and disaffection that's being created by the present situation."

However, there were some signs of hope. Bishop Emeritus Hubbard said seeing Bethlehem University's 3,000 students - 70 percent of whom are Muslim - working alongside Christians as they all prepare to become teachers and nurses proves that people of different faiths "can work in harmony with one another to become contributing members of society."

The trip also included some profound moments. Bishop Emeritus Hubbard cited a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, "always a profound experience.

"It always saddens me to realize the inhumanity of man to man," he stated, recalling the entire world watching the genocide of the Jewish people during World War II and no one seeming to really see what was happening.

The Bishop Emeritus also had the opportunity to preach at a Mass in a chapel at the Church of the Beatitudes, the traditional site of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It was a "stunning experience," he said, to deliver a homily while looking out over the Sea of Galilee and realizing he was where Jesus lived and preached.

Overall, the pilgrimage left Bishop Emeritus Hubbard with the conviction that "the time is now" for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

"The longer it goes, the less likely they'll be able to achieve a two-state solution," he said. "We need people on both sides to be more flexible and compromise to resolve the situation."

The Bishop Emeritus believes it made a difference for Christians he met in the Holy Land to see a delegation of bishops coming to meet and pray with them. He added that the bishops' participation in interfaith prayer services also showed that "religious leadership can come together" in the name of peace.

The delegation plans to share their observations with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, and to also make a presentation on their pilgrimage when the U.S. bishops meet in November.

"I would like to see petitions in the prayer of the faithful in all parishes throughout the country until a resolution is reached," Bishop Emeritus Hubbard added. "We say prayer is powerful, but it's not just prayer of bishops that's powerful."[[In-content Ad]]

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