Archbishop of Sydney

Cardinal's Letter for the Holy Land Cross Project

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
21/2/2007

Dear Friends in Christ

The eyes of the nation and of the Catholic world will be on Sydney in July 2008, when hundreds of thousands of young people will gather here to celebrate World Youth Day.  That week-long event will be preceded by the visit of the World Youth Day Cross to many countries around the globe before it finally arrives here in Sydney.

Another focus of world attention is the continuing strife in the Holy Land.  This is of particular importance to the Church, because Palestinian Christians are struggling for survival.  The ongoing violence in that region has caused the number of pilgrims to dwindle.  The resulting loss of income has caused many Christians to move to other countries, including Australia.  The sad result is that there are very few Christians left in the land where Christ once walked.  The Holy Father has asked us to find ways to help.

To enable us to join in the journey of the WYD Cross, the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission has offered to distribute simple yet beautiful olive-wood crucifixes made in the Holy Land by local artisans.   The proceeds from the sale of these crucifixes will be sent back to the Holy Land to assist Palestinian Christians who are struggling to make ends meet.  We may not be able to go to meet them as pilgrims, but we can try to express our solidarity with them through this small gesture.

This will be of benefit to ourselves as well, because these crucifixes can become focal points of prayer in our homes and the other places where we place them.  They can be the silent proclamation of our willingness to follow Christ daily in the royal road of His Cross. 

It would be good if every Catholic home, every Catholic classroom and hospital, every Catholic workplace would proudly display the Cross of Christ.  There is a lot of talk these days about ‘reclaiming our Christian heritage and culture’; perhaps this would be a small Catholic contribution to that cause. 

I commend the Liturgical Commission for this initiative and invite you to participate.  May the Lord Jesus, Who suffered for us upon the Cross and rose that we might live, bless this effort for our own good and for the good of Christians living in the Holy Land.

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You:  because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

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This letter or a copy in Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, Polish, Spanish, Ukrainian or Vietnamese is available from the Liturgy Office website in pdf format at www.liturgy.sydney.catholic.org.au/documents/index.shtml. Also available from this link is the Cardinal's Lenten Reflection and the Holy Land Cross Order Form.