Plenary Ordinary meeting of the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (ACOHL)
Amman Monday11/Tuesday12 March 2024
The meeting took place at the Visitation’s Rosary Sisters House in Amman. After the initial prayer, the President of the Assembly, H.B Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, opened the sessions with the presence of H.E. Msgr. Bishop Adolfo Tito Illana, the Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem. All members of the assembly presented the situation of their own jurisdictions, sharing particularly the challenges and difficulties that have arisen since the beginning of the war in October 2023.In the first session H.E. Msgr. William Shomali presented the latest documents concerning the Synod of Synodality which second part will take place in October.
In the second session H.E. Mgr. Rafik Nahra, presented the draft new statutes for Christian Schools in Israel. The Ordinaries were informed and discussed the latest developments regarding the Safeguarding Office and the Legal Office. In the evening, a solemn Mass was concelebrated by the members of the Assembly, presided by H.E. Mgr Paul Gallagher Secretary for Relations with States for the Holy See. Many priests, religious and faithful from Jordan attended the Mass in Sweifieh.
On Tuesday 12.13.2024, in the third and last session the Assembly received H.E Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, H.E. Mgr. Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan and Cyprus, and Mgr. Marco Formica. After a short presentation, the Patriarch Pizzaballa and all the members of the Assembly shared with Msgr. Gallagher the situation and difficulties of their churches, considering particularly the current war situation in the Holy Land.
Each assembly meeting is an occasion to pray together, to share experiences and to coordinate ways of acting in order to proclaim more effectively the salvation brought by Jesus Christ to all people.
