With Israel and Hamas still unable to reach a deal to free hostages and halt their war, Catholic leaders in the northwest United States are calling for an agreement between the sides, as well as for them to negotiate a two-state solution for lasting peace.
Following the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem’s denouncement of a series of attacks on Christians in Gaza by Israeli forces Dec. 16, including the killing of a mother and daughter at a Catholic parish, Pope Francis and numerous bishops across the globe also condemned the attack, calling for peace.
Joseph Borgen has had the same menorah since he built it in kindergarten. He looks forward to the first day of Hanukkah every year, when he can place it in his front window for all those who pass by his apartment to see.
Palestine’s ambassador to the Holy See has lauded Pope Francis’ description of the current war in Gaza as “defeat” and has called for both a cease-fire and an end to Israeli settlements, urging international leaders to do more.
Qatar’s foreign affairs ministry said Nov. 27 that an agreement has been reached to extend the Israel-Hamas truce for another two days. The announcement was made by a ministry’s spokesperson on X on the final day of a four-day cease-fire in which hostages abducted by Hamas in October have been released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
These words of a Christian hymn filled churches in Egypt last week as a security situation has been boiling in the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas, the Islamic movement that rules the Gaza Strip, stormed nearby Israeli towns, killing more than 1,400 and abducting hundreds.
Pope Francis and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke Nov. 2 over the phone about the latest developments in Gaza, stressing the need to seek avenues for peace and calling for humanitarian corridors to allow aid into the region.
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a shocking rise of antisemitism on college campuses across the country, according to concerned advocates and students, who said the situation is growing more dangerous by the day.
In response to Pope Francis’s repeated pleas for an end to the war in Gaza and his recent day of prayer for peace, Rome’s chief rabbi has said that while armed conflict is always “an offense against human dignity,” at times it’s necessary to defeat evil.
As the Israel-Hamas war nears its fourth week, the pastor of Gaza’s only Catholic church urged prayers for peace, the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid, telling OSV News his parishioners are experiencing “a terrible situation, a crazy situation.”
