The cardinal From Pierbattista PizzabaLatin Patriarch of Jerusalem, offered an international press conference this Friday from the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), in Berlin (Germany). It was introduced by Regina Lynchexecutive president of ACN International, and led the conversation with the media María Lozano BerdiéPress Director.
Pizzaballa thanked ACN for its ongoing work to help Christians around the world, and particularly in the Holy Land. “Thanks to that we can continue with the life of the Church”, he confessed in relation to the difficulties created by the war.
A war that “has something different compared to the previous ones“he added, pointing to the Hamas massacre and kidnappings of October 7, 2023 as “a turning point”.
Three distinctive elements
This turning point is due to three reasons.
First, “the level and type of violence employee” and its “impact on the population,” both Palestinian and Israeli;
Second, the devastation suffered by the population: “Nothing works today in Gaza“, he said, recalling that 90% of the two million inhabitants of the Strip are displaced and that almost all homes are destroyed, so that “they live in tents, in very poor conditions.” He indicated that Gaza needs “emergency aid,” which included not only food and medicine, but “the educationwhy It is the second year in which the children do not go to schooland if things don’t change they won’t go next year either.” To what is happening in the Strip we must add the problem that the virtual disappearance of pilgrimageswhich are the source of a large number of jobs.
Third, “the hate level that you feel everywhere: the language of contempt and rejection of the other is very problematic,” lamented Pizzabala: “The war will end, sooner or later, but the hatred is still there. We can rebuild things, but how do we rebuild relationships? among the people injured by this situation?”
Points of hope
The approach of the Italian cardinal, who takes 35 years in the Holy Land -where he was also Custos, just before the current one, Francis Patton– left a message of some optimism regarding the future of the war: “Once the war in Lebanon is over, there are signs that we will reach a new situation”.
Advent began in the Holy Land with lights of hope. A video of the friars of the Custody to which Pizzaballa belongs as a Franciscan.
However “hope must not be confused with a political solution”, which “at the moment” he does not see: “Hope is an attitude of life, it is the daughter of faith, of seeing reality. Faith is believing in the presence of God, which transcends our earthly life.”
A political agreement is something else. Believe that “we have already passed the climax of the Gaza war”, and is optimistic about the impact that the end of the war may have in southern Lebanon: “My impression is that in the coming weeks or months some form of agreement will be reached, but the end of the war is not the end of the conflict”.
He gives as an example what is already happening in Gaza: “The soldiers are gone, Hamas is no longer there, but the Israeli government does not want there to be a local government. So, How is it going to be rebuilt? This will take years. And I am sure that the border with Isarel will be hermetically closed.”
The role of Christians
Interreligious dialogue has been greatly affected, “Jews and Muslims no longer meet.” That is why Christians, although they are very few of the population, have a role to play: “Since we are few and we do not have a political agenda, our presence gives a different tone to the meetings… In Gaza The Church is one of the few institutions that has been able to bring food and other means. Hate speeches close horizons and we bring a speech of hope”.
Because Pizzaballa insists that we are not facing a war of religion: “It is a confrontation between religious communities, but not by religion. “It is a political confrontation where religion is used in struggles for political power.”
“The devil wants to drive us out of the Holy Land”
For all this, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem points out that “the devil wants to throw us out of the Holy Land. Many say: ‘They are only 1.5% of the population, wouldn’t it be easier to let them go?’ Maybe, but it wouldn’t be right. Christians have always been there, there is no reason for us to leave. Furthermore, the Holy Land is the place of testimony of the Revelation. Maintaining faith and memory of the historical Christ is essential. The Christian faith is not a narrative, it is a historical faith: God was incarnated and lived there, and the presence of Christians maintains that presence. The devil wants to drive us out of the Holy Land. That’s why It is not only important that we stay, but that we bring Christians on pilgrimage”.
And he insists that it is safe to make a pilgrimage there, especially after the end of the conflict in Lebanon. “It is important to think about returning. I encourage you to have the courage to come, the pilgrimages are safe. Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem… are safe cities“It is important to come and there is hope for the future.”
Pizzaballa wanted to break with the idea of pessimism and decadence: “We are not a Church that is dying, we are a living Churchwith pastoral initiatives, training for children, creation of job opportunities…”.
An obstacle that Christians encounter is that “there is a lot of solidarity between Muslims and Jews” because they have political entities that support them, but “Christians do not have political entities that support Christians for being Christians.”. International organizations, such as the UN, “do not think about Christians, they see us as a minority and place us in that dynamic: generally, the international community does not take us into account, we do not have support from the political side, but we do feel the closeness of the universal Church”.
The “grandfather”
As for the Gaza parish, “It is the one that complains the least in the diocese“, he stated, giving an account of his heroic disposition.
One of the Pope’s calls to the Catholics of Gaza, a year ago. Since then they have not been missing, every day.
Every day at seven in the afternoon they receive a call from Franciscowhich sometimes lasts half a minute, other times longer. It has become the status quo“, he jokes, alluding to the so-called unwritten law that characterizes the coexistence between the different Christian communities in the Holy Sepulcher: “The Pope has become the children’s grandfatherthe grandfather who calls them. It is a great spiritual and psychological support.”
The Catholics of Gaza are preparing for Christmas, “like a normal parish, they will live it as best they can. They are all together. We are trying to put toys “so that it is something different for the children.” He cannot reveal how they manage to introduce food and other essential products there, especially due to the difficulties of the northern border: “But we are very stubborn and we do not stop despite the obstacles.”
The situation in Aleppo
His opinion on the situation in Syria after the entry of the rebels into Aleppo, the country’s second city: “At first there was a lot of fear. After the first days there is less violence. The rebels try to show that they are not violent, that they are not against Christians,” and there have been some meetings with the Latin bishops.
“We must support above all to the Christians who have decided to stay in the most difficult moments. Many could have left, and now we have to help them to show them that they were not wrong to stay,” he concluded.
Click here to help the Catholics of Gaza now through Aid to the Church in Need.
