Father Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of Christ the Redeemer in Taybeh, Palestine, welcomed the international group of bishops of the Holy Land Co-ordination to the West Bank’s only fully Christian town for Sunday Mass on 18 January.
Pressure has been ramping up on the Latin Catholic community over the past 12 months – especially in June 2025 when settler attacks as well as an increase in checkpoints led to a marked deterioration in the quality of life for the Christians and their neighbours.
Olive trees have been destroyed, cars have been set alight in the violence that goes unchecked by the authorities.
“We are facing a very bad situation because we are Palestinians,” says Fr Bashar. “Here, they’re starting to occupy more land, grazing their cows and sheep on our land, and also setting fire to cars.”
“They burn fire also behind the ruins of St George El Khader Church. This Church is from the fifth century.”
The Bishops celebrated Mass with the local community, meeting local Christian families and hearing first-hand their struggles.
In this interview, Fr Bashar explains that the community is resilient but they are also challenged by their numbers diminishing as people move away.
“We are ‘bleeding’ because of migration because the people are afraid – a lot of people are thinking about their future – the future of their kids. We don’t have the opportunity to support our people and to stop all of these attacks. But we thank all the people, all the diplomatic missions, all the churches, all the heads of the churches who still give us a lot of love, a lot of support, a lot of encouragement, and a lot of solidarity. We still need this solidarity and this encouragement to stay in this land.
“The churches still also exist, in all dimensions of the life of the people here in Taybeh and everywhere. We are here because we are Church, and the Church has continued her presence with commitment and resilience.”
