800 ילדים קיבלו את פני המשלחת
של הבישופים בביקור שלהם לארץ הקודש ולקהילה הנוצרית פה.
Bethlehem: more than 800 Christian children welcome world church leaders The lively procession of children came from Bethlehem and its sister cities of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, Jerusalem, Abboud, Nablus, Ramallah and elsewhere. It also included Christian children from the Israeli city of Nazareth. For many youngsters, this was their first trip to Bethlehem although all the towns are very close to each other, travel within the area is very restricted by security measures around Bethlehem and the wall which surrounds it. After parading through the streets of Bethlehem, the children attended an ecumenical service at the Church of the Nativity where they heard sermons by local and visiting Christian leaders under the theme of Christ's words: "Allow the children and do not forbid them to come unto me; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to ones like these" {Matt 19. 12-15]. Speeches by the church leaders spoke about the joy of life, reflected by the children, but also their longing for the time when the wall that separates Bethlehem from the neighbouring cities has gone. The children represented the variety of denominations of the Holy Land: Latin Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Syriacs (whose liturgy is in Aramiac), Lutheran, Presbyterians and Greek Catholic or 'Malakites', the indigenous church of Palestine and a Uniate church in full communion with Rome. The day ended at the Peace Centre on Manger Square were all church leaders joined the Peace Centre staff to distribute Christmas presents to the children.
מתוך http://www.indcatholicnews.com/bethchd318.html