All parish priests in Ireland have been asked to raise awareness in their sermons over Christmas of the current suffering facing the Christian community in Bethlehem, the town where Jesus Christ was born.
A statement by the Irish Commission for Justice and Social Affairs (ICJSA) says Bethlehem, once a bustling cultural and spiritual centre hosting tourists and pilgrims from around the world, has become an isolated town, with boarded up shops and abandoned development projects.
"The age-old link between Bethlehem and Jerusalem - its spiritual, cultural and economic lifeline - has effectively been severed as a result of the erection of the separation wall and the expansion of illegal settlements on land acquired by coercion," according to the ICJSA, a part of the Bishops' Conference.
Since July of this year, the main crossing between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is closed to Palestinians in east Jerusalem. The statement describes Bethlehem as resembling a jail, with the people living inside the town having the psychological outlook of prisoners.
"It is easier to come from Ireland to Jerusalem than for Palestinians from Bethlehem to come to Jerusalem. A simple journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, only 14km apart, can now take an entire day," the statement says.
Restriction of movement makes it hard for Palestinian Christians from east Jerusalem to pray at the Church of the Nativity. "The situation for Christians in Bethlehem to attend Sunday mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is even more difficult."
The statement, issued through the ICJSA chairman Bishop Raymond Field, the auxiliary bishop of Dublin, said that not so long ago the Christians in Bethlehem made up over 70 per cent of the total population.
"The most recent statistics put the figure at 30 per cent. Since the year 2000 alone, more than 400 Christian families have left the area. This development means that the birthplace of Jesus, home to the oldest Christian church and the oldest Christian communities in the world, will have nothing left of its history other than the cold stones of empty churches within a few generations." The statement adds: "This Christmas in a spirit of solidarity may we join in prayer with the Christian community in Palestine and with all Israelis and Palestinians of good faith."