Cardinal Pizzaballa: We must leave politics and pray together in the Holy Land

In a conversation with the pontifical foundation Help the Church in Need (ACN), Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said that to stop the war ravaging the Holy Land it is necessary for Christians to “leave politics aside, gather and pray together.”

The Patriarch remarked that at this moment “the wounds are bleeding,” so there is a need to put politics aside, since “recognizing the suffering of others is not so simple when one is suffering.” Furthermore, he recalled that there are Catholics serving in the Hebrew army deployed in Gaza and Catholics “being bombed in Gaza.”

“It is not easy,” Cardinal Pizzaballa warned.

Furthermore, he expressed that the Church cannot be dragged by one of the sides in conflict, but that the solution does not consist of a false neutrality either: “They keep telling me that I have to be neutral. Come with me to Gaza, talk to my people who lost everything, and then tell me to be neutral. That doesn’t work,” the cardinal told ACN.

“But we cannot become part of the political, military, or confrontation clash,” he said. “Our presence must be a constructive presence, but it is not easy to find the right path,” added the Patriarch.

The situation is so polarized and tempers are so heated that Cardinal Pizzaballa did not hesitate to point out that “if you are close to the Palestinians, the Israelis feel betrayed and vice versa.”

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is divided into six vicariates: Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Palestine (including the West Bank and Gaza), one for Hebrew-speaking Catholics (made up of approximately one thousand people) and another for migrants and asylum seekers.

Although the cardinal highlights the work of the Patriarchate to help the most vulnerable Catholics in the Holy Land, he also notes that the situation is extremely difficult and changing, making it very difficult to make long-term plans. Likewise, he commented that it often takes weeks to get aid to the region.

“It is very difficult to do something for the future of Gaza, but we still have priorities,” said the Patriarch.

In terms of education, he regretted that “all schools are destroyed or used as shelters. The children have already lost a year of school, but the families want education, so we are trying to introduce caravans to serve as schools.” Likewise, he indicated that teachers must still be found and we must work “with what is left of the Palestinian authorities.”

Although, according to the cardinal, in Gaza “a real crime is being committed and the situation is catastrophic,” it is not the only difficult reality in the Holy Land. In that sense, he recalled that in the West Bank the majority of Christians depended on tourism, widely affected by the war.

“Now there is no work with the pilgrims and the (Palestinians) who worked in Israel no longer have permits to enter. We are witnessing the highest unemployment rate in history, 78%, specifically, among Christians,” said Cardinal Pizzaballa.

Finally, he recognized and thanked ACN for its work in the Holy Land since the conflict began in October 2023, dedicating itself to supporting the most vulnerable with emergency aid, but also with “pastoral activities, summer camps” and other activities. for which it is not always easy to raise funds.