For weeks, the day of June 30 has been noted as the point of the crucial handover of sovereignty from the provisional authority to an appointed interim Iraqi government, the bishops note.
«We urge the Catholic community of England and Wales to pray that this step will be matched by a deliverance from violence that will allow renewed hope of a better future; that peace, justice and freedom, including religious freedom, are granted to a suffering people which so urgently needs them; and that international support for the reconstruction of Iraq will be intensified,» the bishops affirm in a statement.
The text is signed by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor of Westminster and Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, the president and vice president of the bishops’ conference, respectively.
In particular, the bishops call for «a day of vigil and special prayer on the solemn feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, June 29, the eve of the next step for the peoples of Iraq.»
