Educational Resource
Catholic Campaign for Peace in the Holy Land
"To the leaders of the international community we say: Work with Israelis and Palestinians to stop the violence in Gaza and provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance. But do not stop there. With one voice press Israelis and Palestinians to build a just peace with security for Israel and a viable state for Palestinians."
-- Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land, January 15, 2009
"To the Christians of the Mother Church in the Holy Land we say: We see in you the suffering face of Christ who lost everything for our sake. You are not alone. We are one family, a worldwide communion in Christ. We hear your cries as you suffer alongside your brothers and sisters in the wider community. We assure you of our love, our prayer and our continued solidarity. We ask you to pray for us."
-- Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land, January 15, 2009
The Catholic Campaign for Peace in the Holy Land is part of an unprecedented interreligious initiative. This initiative engages Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders and communities within the United States in a coordinated effort to promote a just peace in the Middle East. The Catholic Campaign builds upon and complements the ongoing efforts of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to pursue a just peace.
We launch this Catholic Campaign for Peace in the Middle East for at least three reasons:
- Our faith demands it.
- Our Church’s leaders call us to it.
- Our Church is well situated to build bridges.
Viewing the Documents
The documents (below) are made available to you in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need to have Adobe Acrobat 5.0 or higher installed on your computer in order to view the report in this popular format. If you do not already have it, you may download and install the current version of this application free of charge at the Adobe Acrobat Reader's web site. If you have any difficulty opening any of the links below or you would like to inquire about receiving a hard copy of the report, email us at jphdmail@usccb.org.
OVERVIEW (Print this overview for full description of the campaign.)
Campaign Documents (This file contains all of the documents listed separately below.)
- National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East
- A Nationwide Network of Local Interreligious Initiatives Working for Peace in the Middle East
- National Interreligious Leadership List
- Arab-Israeli-Palestinian Peace: Crisis to Hope
- Appeals to U.S. Leadership
- Twelve Urgent Steps for Peace
- Sample Press Release
- Guidelines for Supporting the National Interreligious Initiative
- Sample Op-Eds
- Prayers for Peace in the Middle East
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Background Documents
- Remarks by Cardinal William Keeler, National Press Club, January 12, 2005
- Statement read by Bishop William Skylstad to Presidents of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, January 11 & 13, 2005
- Statement on Israeli-Palestinian Violence by the USCCB Administrative Committee, March 13, 2002
- A Statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, June 15, 2001
- National Interreligious Leadership Initiative Background Documents
If you are not already on our alert list, to receive periodic updates on the Catholic Campaign for Peace in the Holy Land e-mail: jphdmail@usccb.org. For more information on the Church’s work for Peace in the Middle East visit: