Twenty fourth meeting of the CPAM

Present at the meeting were more than twenty members of the Filipino, Indian, Sri Lankan, Ge’ez rite, African, Lebanese and Rumanian chaplaincies, priests and sisters, representatives of the prison ministry team, those working with the Israeli NGOs and the Bedouin and the parish priests of Haifa and Tiberias. The opening prayer was taken from Pope Francis’s message for Lent.

After a round of introductions, during which new members were introduced, news was exchanged. This began with an update on the situation of the Bedouins in Khan al-Ahmar, whose houses and school are threatened with demolition orders. Father David also reported on the recent meeting of the priests of the Patriarchate with Archbishop Pizzaballa and the letter the Archbishop addressed to the diocese.

Among the many themes then treated in the meeting were the following:
- the evaluation of the celebration of the World Migrant Day and ideas for next year’s celebration,
- the conclusion of the financial report for 2016,
- the preparation of a day of recollection to prepare for Pentecost,
- the planning for a youth assembly in October,
- the activities during the summer,
- the preparation for the conferral of sacraments among the migrants,
- offering a cultural-historical-social program so that we can get to know Israel and Palestine better,
- preparations for the upcoming feast of Easter.