With the Gaza war nearing its one-year mark, Jerusalem’s Latin patriarch has urged Christians to stay, and has asked for prayers amid what he has called an “objectively intolerable” situation. Source: Crux.
Speaking in a video message to Catholic parishes in the Holy Land published on Monday, Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa acknowledged that “life here is very difficult” and that “the Holy Land is not always an easy place to live”.
“Especially in this period of war, the situation became more dramatic, more difficult for all, and (there are) a lot of challenges,” he said, noting that the situation is especially trying for families, those with children and those who want to grow their families.
A common temptation is to leave and make a better life elsewhere, Cardinal Pizzaballa said, saying, “yes, maybe (it would) be less complicated to leave, to spend our life somewhere else, but we receive a call as Christians to live in this land, to make our contribution, to build our future here in this land”.
“We cannot give up, there is always hope, and hope is not coming from outside,” he said, saying hope is something that comes “from our heart, and I’m sure that if we’re united together, then we can still give to our children a reason to hope for the future”.
The Gaza war ignited nearly a year ago, when Israeli forces retaliated after an October 7 surprise attack by Hamas that left some 1200 people, mostly civilians, dead, and about 250 others taken as hostages.
At the time, Israel pledged to oust Hamas from power, and that its military offensive would not end until that objective had been achieved.
So far, an estimated 40,000 people have been killed in the war, most of whom are civilians, as well as journalists and aid workers.
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Patriarch asks Christians to stay in the Holy Land despite difficulties (By Elise Ann Allen, Crux)
