New Delhi (CBCI News): The Standing Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, gathered at St. John’s Medical College Bangalore on 6-8 August 2014, expressed its deep concern over the on-going violence and bloodshed in the Gaza strip causing untold miseries to thousands of innocent people. The apex body of the Catholic Bishops of India earnestly appeals to the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to heed to global efforts to end the continuing conflict and establish lasting peace in the Holy Land, for which Pope Francis and other world leaders have taken several initiatives, including the prayer meet, held in the Vatican, in which both the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers prayed together for peace.
The Bishops’ Committee also expressed its anguish over the escalation of violence in Iraq, showing signs of genocide. It is a matter of great concern that thousands of people belonging to religious minorities, including Christians and Yezidis are subjected to persecution, torture, exile and even to the most dastardly acts of burying women and children alive in mass graves. While expressing solidarity with those who are suffering, especially those persecuted on account of their faith, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India exhorts all people of goodwill to pray unceasingly for peace in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.