Gifts aid Holy Land

As Catholics across the Albany Diocese commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus during Holy Week, they will also be urged to support Christian ministries in the Holy Land through a special collection on Good Friday.

The Annual Collection for the Holy Land raises money for the Franciscan friars who have served in the schools, cultural institutions, hospitals, clinics and centers for social assistance catering to Christians, Jews and Muslims alike.

Since the 13th century, these ministers have been charged with the maintenance and operation of the many holy sites, shrines and churches that celebrate the life of Jesus, as well as tending to the needs of the poor and needy who now live where Jesus once did.

"There are many Christians in the Holy Land who have left their country to look elsewhere for another home where they can live in peace and dignity," Bishop Howard J. Hubbard said in a pulpit letter read in parishes last weekend. "This situation makes necessary and urgent the intervention of the whole Catholic Church in order to preserve their presence in the birthplace of Christianity."

In turbulent times, the Bishop says that Christians in the Holy Land are "prone to feel isolated and abandoned. That is why they need to experience the evangelical charity, which binds us all together in Christ, and the support of the whole Church, which connects us more closely to our Christian roots."

Bishop Hubbard urged Catholics to participate with the collection during Good Friday services to "support the various programs set up on behalf of people who are in such serious need," he said. "I thank you for your continued support in this effort to assist our sisters and brothers in the Holy Land."

(4/8/04) [[In-content Ad]]