In a statement released last week, they said:

"Attempts to find a lasting peace in the Holy Land that would provide security for Palestinians and the ordinary people of Israel have remained elusive, seemingly utterly so," the bishops said. "While there may have at times been goodwill, there has been no lasting way forward."

A renewed effort is needed to achieve lasting peace for "ordinary Palestinian peoples" and others living in the troubled land, they stressed.

The Holy Land is a special place for all three Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam, they also point out.

For many decades now, attempts to find a lasting peace in the Holy Land that would provide security for the Palestinians and the ordinary people of Israel have remained stubbornly elusive, the bishops say.

While there may have at times been good will, there has been no lasting way forward.

US president Joe Biden is similarly concerned.

"Even if the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, the US and my administration will not give up on trying to bring ... both sides closer together," he says.

"There must be two states for two peoples living side by side in safety and peace.

"Every people must live in dignity, but the goal of the two-state solution is out of reach because there are restrictions on movement and other restrictions imposed on the Palestinians."

However New Zealand's bishops note the long-standing proposal for a "two-state solution" under which an independent Palestine would exist alongside Israel "remains just … a concept".

Another concern is that "illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank" continue to be established.

The bishops say international law has required that the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, must be returned to the Palestinians "as the heartland of their own state".

The bishops also pointed to Pope Francis' concern that progress is lacking in rebuilding trust and overcoming hatred and resentment. Without this, peace between Israel and Palestine, allowing two states to exist side by side, cannot be realised.

We strongly "support Pope Francis in that call," they say.

"The conflict in the Holy Land cannot be allowed to continue with no serious moves toward finding a just and peaceful solution for the peoples of Israel and Palestine, but particularly for Palestinians, whose long years of turmoil, occupation, blockading (as in Gaza) and impoverishment are a blight on the region and indeed on humanity."

Source

• NZ Catholic Bishops
• Crux
• CN
• Arab News

The Act comes into force on 7 November.

The big pastoral issue revolves around whether or not to give the last rites to people who choose assisted suicide or euthanasia.

The last rites include three sacraments: Confession, Anointing of the Sick and Dying and Holy Eucharist. These sacraments are given to Catholics seriously ill or in danger of dying.

Dunn says the bishops have discussed this issue at their last bishops' Conference meeting. At this, they agreed "to seek wider input" on the issue.

"We have got to be careful," Dunn says.

"The bishops are concerned about offering these [rites] to people being euthanised, but are seeking feedback."

This will include looking at what's appropriate in terms of giving guidance and advice to those who are thinking of availing themselves of assisted suicide or euthanasia.

There are dilemmas such as whether priests should "sit by the bed while the doctor's doing the injection saying the prayer for the dying."

" It's a bit odd, isn't it?" Dunn says.

So far the bishops have agreed it might be acceptable to hear the confession of those who choose assisted dying.

In doing so, they would ne, "hoping all the time this might help them to not go ahead with what they're doing," Dunn says.

But any decision the bishops make will be structured so it cannot undermine the position of Catholic medical practitioners, who refuse to take part in assisted suicide or euthanasia because of conscientious objection.

Dunn says the bishops were disappointed with the passage of the Abortion Legislation Act and the End of Life Choice Act. They did all they could to prevent these from becoming law, Dunn says.

"It's like a tide. This (euthanasia) is one of the terrible signs of the times. How do we respond as a Church?"

"In some ways, all we can do is keep emphasising what we believe and then try to show the compassionate face of the Father."

"All we can do is to keep affirming the worth and the preciousness of every human life, even though we are living in a situation which we find so abhorrent," Dunn says.

Dunn says it seems the ordinary person thinks assisted suicide is a compassionate act, a merciful thing.

"The trouble is — this sort of act can have a creeping effect. The big fear is that old people or chronically unwell people could begin to feel‘well, I'm a burden on my family, a burden on society. I'm no good. My life has no value. I just want to end it'.

"It actually has consequences that are negative for society. I sort of hope in a way that it won't be taken up much, but you never know."

Source

• NZ Catholic
• Image:NZ Herald
  

The bishops have decided to postpone the hikoi in which a specially-commissioned artwork will be displayed.

Bishop Stephen Lowe, (pictured) Secretary of the Bishops' Conference, says the bishops revised their original plan after deciding the hikoi had been approved without sufficient discussions with the wider community, including Katorika (Catholic) Maori.

The postponement is 'until further notice'.

Lowe says a decision on whether a hikoi might be planned for after 15 August would be made following further community discussions.

The hikoi had been set for the three months leading to the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August.

Despite the postponement, the bishops' other plans to renew the country's dedication to Our Lady will continue.

They will still gather at St Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington on Sunday 15 August for a Mass to renew Pompallier's 1838 dedication of Aotearoa New Zealand to Our Lady Assumed into Heaven.

When the hikoi was first announced in March, Bishop Stephen Lowe explained its purpose.

"Bishop Pompallier had already dedicated the country to Mary."

"But the bishops thought the idea of a renewal of that dedication had merit, especially because this year, August 15th is a Sunday.

"Mary has a special and very holy place in the hearts of Catholics. In this time of a world pandemic, we felt it fitting to renew our country's dedication to her."

Pompallier - who was the country's first Catholic bishop (1838 to 1868) - dedicated the country to Our Lady's care when he celebrated his first Mass here at Totara Point in Northland on 13 January 1838.

Parishes throughout the country will continue to be invited to join in prayer for the renewal of the dedication.

The bishops commissioned the artwork of Mary from Christchurch artist Damien Walker and had planned that the work would be taken on a hikoi around each of the country's six Catholic dioceses in the three months leading to the Solemnity of the Assumption.

Damien Walker, says the painting "presents Mary as a symbol of unity in her universal motherhood, uniting Heaven and Earth in her son."

"She reflects the unity of the Church, which reaches to the ends of the Earth, stretching not only across the oceans but across the centuries as well.

"The work has a distinctly New Zealand flavour, emphasising also the unity of the tangata whenua with all the other peoples who have come to live alongside them in the partnership of biculturalism, called to live the same faith and baptism, each in their unique way."

In the bishops' statement, Lowe does not mention what will happen with the artwork.

Source

• New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
• New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
• Image: NZ Catholic