Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

The United States should provide tireless leadership to ensure a two-state solution in the Middle East, said two leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a letter to President Obama on Jan. 9. “We affirm your support of the two-state solution, promise our support for strong U.S. leadership for peace, and urge you even to consider appointing a high profile envoy in hopes that as in the past this might advance peace and justice in the region,” wrote Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S.C.C.B., and Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. The bishops acknowledged that actions by both Israelis and Palestinians, including rocket attacks from Gaza and Israeli occupation and settlement policies, have undermined peace in the region, threatening the two-state solution of “a secure and recognized Israel living in peace alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state.” The bishops also noted the conflict’s heavy toll on the ancient Christian community in the Holy Land.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

The direct action of San Diego Bishop Michael Pham is likely to leave a stronger impression in the minds of the public—and of the immigrants who are circling in and out of court—than any written statement.
Zac DavisJune 23, 2025
“This is not policy, it is punishment, and it can only result in cruel and arbitrary outcomes.”
June 23, 2025
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican as they join him for the recitation of the Angelus prayer and an appeal for peace hours after the U.S. bombed nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran on June 22. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
“Let diplomacy silence the guns!” Pope Leo XIV told the crowd in St. Peter’s Square a few hours after the United States entered the Iran-Israel war by bombing three of Iran’s nuclear sites.
Gerard O’ConnellJune 22, 2025
Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who helped expose the abuse committed by leaders of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, gives Pope Leo XIV a stole made of alpaca wool during the pope's meeting with members of the media on May 12 in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo XIV’s statement was read at the premiere of a play about the Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, who was subject to death threats because of her reporting on sexual abuse.
Gerard O’ConnellJune 21, 2025