RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNS) — Palestinian Christians must feel the support of the universal church and must not feel isolated in their difficulties, said Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Their cares are also our cares, and it is important to say that. I hope our visit encouraged them,” Cardinal George said after greeting parishioners of Ramallah’s Holy Family Parish, where he celebrated Mass on the feast of Jesus’ baptism Jan. 13. The cardinal was in the Holy Land Jan. 11-15 to participate in the ninth annual meeting of the Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land, a Catholic group. He was part of a 28-member delegation that included nine bishops. Clergy who participated in the meeting celebrated Masses at several of the Catholic parishes in the Palestinian territories.
