He explained that just a few days before being approached to take part in the walk, he was speaking with someone about the difficulties he was having with the “unresolved conflicts in the world and how they were perpetuated by endless justifications, open acts of aggression, and an unwillingness to dialogue in a meaningful way.”
“I expressed a tiredness with the whole idea of taking sides when it was clear that atrocities have, and continue to be, committed by both sides and that the civilian populations, on both sides of a conflict, are always the ones who pay the price,” van Roijen said.
He added: “The idea of a 42-kilometer walk helped me focus some of this energy on something constructive that was building greater awareness and solidarity with a civilian population that was forced to migrate 42 kilometers from the North to the South of Gaza, and helped me to appreciate how difficult this must be when dealing with possessions, children, infirmities, checkpoints, ongoing conflict, and the possibility of being targeted.”
Van Roijen emphasized that the walk allowed him to “move from my response to the atrocities committed by both sides to a spirit of offering it to God.”
The bishop completed the walk in six hours and 45 minutes. The weather hovered between 46 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit and, despite the rain and wind, the clergyman did not take any breaks and managed to stay dry thanks to his umbrella and rubber boots.
He credited his four-mile walk to and from his office each day during the winter months for being properly prepared.