Before the bombing of this Tuesday by the Israeli army against the leadership of Hamás in Doha, the capital of Qatar, the auxiliary bishop of the diocese for Jordan of the Latin patriarchy of Jerusáln, Mons. Iyad Twal, advocated the solution of two states to reach peace in the Middle East.
This intention is aligned with the call of the Dicasterio for the communication of the Vatican, which at the end of July and through its editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, advocated the recognition of the Palestinian State In the midst of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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“The alternative would be to build a state as in South Africa, that is, an apartheid. But the earth is very small. Or we live together, or there is no true solution,” said Mons. Twal by expressing that the solution of two states, “as indicated in the 70s with the UN resolutions,” is the only way to live in peace.
It should be noted that the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, He said in October 2024 that the solution of two states “is not realistic” to end the war.
“My impression is that nobody wants a bigger conflict, but no one can stop it (…) everything is positively and negatively possible. For now we need something new, creative, I don’t know what, but all previous agreements and ideas, such as the perspective of the solution of two states, all that is not realistic now,” explained the purple then.
Israeli bombing in Doha
The auxiliary bishop is in Rome to participate in a training course for new bishops, so he could express to the FIDES Pontifical Agency That what happened in Doha is “bad news.”
“Wars in the history of humanity are a tremendous evil and we do not learn. Every day we try to maintain hope, but, unfortunately, events denies us,” he said.
He also pointed out that what happened could be a sabotage to the search for “an exit to the conflict” and “a violation of international law”, so “the entire world must understand that in the Middle East there is no justice for all and that you cannot continue to live like this.”
Mons. Twal recalled that Cardinal Pizzaballa has also indicated that violence in the region is originated for Satan’s desire to impose himself where Jesus livedAlthough he added that the Christians of the Middle East believe “in the justice and in the love of God towards all of us. That gives us hope every day, despite the hard reality we live.”
“We continue to pray and trust the possibility of living together. I regret that this happens while I am far from my people, in Rome, but I feel the support of the other bishops, our brothers in faith. Here the universal spirit of the Church is breathed, and everyone pray with us for peace,” he added.
The prelate also pointed out that religion in the Middle East “can be an element of peace, but also of war.” The religions of the area, according to Mons. Twal, “are part of the problem and the solution.”
“The challenge begins with the concept of State: we have not yet managed to separate State and religion as in Europe. But how can we live our religious differences from the perspective of citizenship, rights and justice if we continue to say My God is the only true one and I get all the justification for acting? ”Said the bishop.
“That is fanatic thinking. Instead, faith, and I say it as a bishop, calls me to live justice with everyone, respecting human dignity,” he added.
The Church in Jordan
Given the regional conflict, young Jordans live “with deep pain” and insistently ask “where is God?”, As explained by Bishop Twal.
“It is an existential question that is also a temptation, but at the same time it is an opportunity to approach peace. We must ask ourselves: I, young, that I am not ruler, how can I make peace live in my heart, even before it becomes a reality among nations?”
In addition, Mons. Twal reiterated that the Christians of the Middle East “are called to live peace personally, to witness it in society. In Jordan, thank God, the Catholic Church undertakes not only internally, but also with our Muslim brothers.”
The bishop defines Jordan as “an oasis of peace, where we live in dialogue with everyone: from the king to the smallest of us, everyone tries to help.”
“We have supported our Christian brothers in Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine. The more we disappoint war conflicts, the more we commit ourselves to help those who suffer,” he said.
Andrés Henríquez
I was born in Caracas in 1996. I am a writer for ACI Press and correspondent of EWTN since 2023. Since then, I cover events of the Catholic Church in Venezuela, Latin America and the world. I have more than 6 years of experience in bilingual media. In addition, in Venezuela I have worked from various fields for freedom and respect for fundamental rights in the country. I am a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.