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.
After two women were killed and several others injured in a series of targeted attacks on a Catholic church and convent by the Israeli military in Gaza, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the violence, especially as Christmas draws near.
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.
As the Church begins its Advent and Christmas seasons, the pastor of Gaza’s lone Catholic parish stressed the importance of stepping up one’s spiritual life amid the tragedies of war, and said the pope’s attention to them has been a major consolation.
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.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With hopes growing for a temporary, humanitarian cease-fire, Pope Francis met at the Vatican Nov. 22 with relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and, separately, with relatives of Palestinians suffering under the Israeli siege of Gaza.
In the midst of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a Catholic immigration group is joining its voice with Democratic lawmakers urging President Joe Biden to allow Palestinians in the United States to stay here during the conflict.
As the war in Gaza drags on and other global hotspots escalate, Church leaders in both Europe and the Holy Land have again called for peace and disarmament, and for acts of solidarity with those who are suffering.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led his brother bishops in a prayer for wisdom as they began their fall plenary assembly in Baltimore Nov. 13 with a Mass for peace.
