Church leader wants multi-denominational visit to Holy Land

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, has invited the leaders of Ireland's three other main Churches to show their support for Christians in the Holy Land with a joint visit to the region in the near future.

Preaching at the Easter Vigil Mass in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh on Sunday night, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady asked for prayers for the people of the Holy Land who are living in "terrible tension and terrible trouble", he said.

Cardinal Brady, who was in the region in January, said he hoped to return soon with the Church of Ireland Primate Archbishop Alan Harper, the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr John Finlay, and the Methodist President, the Rev Cecil Cooper, reports Irish news agency RTE.

He called on Christians to pray especially for Iraq, where the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was found dead earlier in the month after being abducted by armed attackers.

Cardinal Brady also asked for prayers for Irish missionaries still serving in troubled Kenya, adding that he thinks of them and their worries, according to RTE.

"I pray that the Risen Christ will shed His light and His love, in a special way, on this troubled land and its people this Easter," he said.