MEETING IN VATICAN ON FUTURE OF CHRISTIANS IN HOLY LAND

VATICAN CITY, NOV 28, 2001 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls released the following declaration today:

"On December 13, a meeting will be held at the Vatican on the theme: 'The future of Christians in the Holy Land'.

"The meeting, of a purely pastoral nature, was desired by the Holy Father himself, who, considering the delicate situation in the Holy Land, wishes to confirm, once again, his spiritual closeness to those populations and to share the drama of their daily existence, too often tested by acts of violence and discrimination.

"The meeting, which will bring together the leaders of the Catholic communities of different rites in the Holy Land and the presidents of various episcopal conferences, will offer the possibility to give witness to the solicitude of the entire Church for those Christians, in particular for the Catholic community, as well as to show the common commitment to the continuity of its millenarian presence in that region."

OP;CHRISTIANS; HOLY LAND;...;NAVARRO-VALLS;VIS;20011128;Word: 170;