|PIC1|The Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool is currently in the Holy Land for a visit to boost morale among the suffering Catholic community in the region.

Archbishop Patrick Kelly is taking part in a 10-day meeting of Catholic bishops representing countries around the world as well as representatives from Catholic organisations, reports Catholic newspaper The Universe.

"This visit is the third stage in a commitment by the Catholic Community in England and Wales to the Church in the Holy Land," said Archbishop Kelly.

"The first stage was the ecumenical pilgrimage just before Christmas in which Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor took part. The second was the broadcast by BBC television of Midnight Mass from Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King; at that Mass Bethlehem, not only as it was 2,000 years ago but as it is today, was the focus of reflection and prayer.

"The third stage is this visit by Bishops from several countries, to listen, to observe, and to learn and as always, to accompany, in days of great uncertainty and fear, our sisters and brothers in the Holy Land, in their commitment to the deed of Jesus Christ on Calvary by which he made possible for us all reconciliation with God and with each other."

Archbishop Kelly's visit to the Holy Land follows a recent pilgrimage to the region by four church leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the week before Christmas.

Dr Rowan Williams was joined by the Archbishop of Westminster and spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Free Churches Moderator, the Rev David Coffey, and the Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian.

The four church leaders stressed that their visit was to show their solidarity with the Christian community of the Holy Land.

Dr Williams said at the time: "We're visiting Christians who suffer terrible economic hardship and daily anxiety about their homes and their security. We'll be alongside people, Christians, Jews and Muslims, whose lives have been wrecked in different ways by terrorism and by the sense that they're hated and feared by each other. We'll be with people who are really desperate to find some sort of hope, some way out of the cycle of violence and insecurity."