New Delhi, prayer vigil for access to the holy places for Palestinian Christians
New Delhi (AsiaNews) - Christians in India and Palestine. A candlelight vigil will take place tomorrow in New Delhi, in front of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Archbishop Vincent Concessao of New Delhi, some Protestant bishops and the Ambassador of the Palestinian state in New Delhi will attend the vigil, organized by the Ecumenical Solidarity Network in India - Kairos Palestine (Isen). The Secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Bishops' Conference of India, Fr. Charles Irudayam, said in an exclusive interview with AsiaNews that "in such an important day from a religious point of view as Palm Sunday when Jesus entered the holy city of Jerusalem, it is sad that Palestinian Christians are under severe restrictions on visiting the Holy Sites, precisely during the Holy Week. It 's a matter of justice, besides being a religious problem. "
The vigil, said Fr Charles Irudayam has a precise meaning: "With this vigil we want to express our concern not only for the Palestinian Christians, but our solidarity with the Palestinian people, all of them. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is long and difficult. The Palestinians live in a permanent state of injustice - arbitrary detention without trial for everyone, including children, torture, demolition of houses, prohibitions, land confiscation, control of essential resources like water, and other forms of collective punishment. This reflects the total disregard of all laws and resolutions”.
The groups participating in the vigil, and the Office for Justice and Peace, at various points summarize their position and that the initiative is driven by concern over some basic human rights of all peoples of Palestine. "We are called to raise our voice against the unjust behaviour implemented by the Israeli government." The aim of the vigil is to express solidarity and support to the Palestinians, who resist any form of oppression, occupation and violence, to join Palestinian Christians in their protest and rejection of illegal Israeli charges that deny them access to important ceremonies, while supporting the Palestinian protest over the massive presence of Israeli security forces inside and outside of the holy places, to reaffirm that the root of the crisis is the occupation of Palestinian lands. Finally they call for those who love peace to unite in supporting a peace process leading to a rapid and sustainable fair agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
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