Keys of the Cardinal of the Holy Land: forgiveness, truth, justice

“A real and lasting peace will take a long time, now we must work for an end to hostilities, for a ceasefire,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told journalists – including I.MEDIA – on the sidelines of an event in Rome on May 2, 2024. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem underlined the difficulty of political and interreligious dialogue in the Holy Land as a result of the conflict, calling on the Catholic Church to avoid the “easy temptation” to avoid giving a political answer to the war.

Isabella H. de Carvalho / I.MEDIA

On April 15, the Italian Franciscan, who was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis in September, had to postpone taking possession of his titular parish in Rome, Sant’Onofrio, following an Iranian offensive against Israel on April 13. takes place on May 1.

The next day the cardinal went to the Pontifical Lateran University for a “lectio magistralis” (an inaugural lesson) on the theme of pastoral approaches to peace. At both events, he spoke about the seriousness of the situation in the Holy Land and emphasized the role of leaders in ending violence and working toward lasting peace.

In his speech in Lateran, the cardinal emphasized that this conflict exposed the “growing crisis” of multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, as well as the “weakness” of the international and local political community.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that it is not the Church’s vocation to participate in the “political dynamics of the negotiations,” as he considers this an “easy temptation” that is contrary to its mission in favor of peace.

Isabella H. de Carvalho / I.MEDIA

The failure of religious leaders

The patriarch also lamented the fact that the word of religious leaders has been largely absent in this conflict.

“With a few exceptions, speeches, reflections and prayers from religious leaders that are different from those of other political or social leaders have not been heard in recent months,” he underlined.

He said religious leaders in the Middle East are not called to “reinvent the wheel” in terms of how to deal with the difficult situation, but rather “to be credible, sincere and passionate witnesses of God.”

He also noted how, although interfaith dialogue has produced many fruits in the past, this conflict marks “a turning point” in this dialogue, which “can never be the same as before, at least between Christians, Muslims and Jews.”

“After years of interfaith dialogue, we noticed that we no longer understood each other,” he said.

Cardinal Pizzaballa, who has lived in the Holy Land since the 1990s and has long been responsible for the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics, described this realization as “personally a great sadness, but also a great lesson.” However, he hoped for improvements in the future.

“Despite our differences, we care for each other, and we want this good to be reflected in the lives of ourselves, but also of our respective communities.”

Forgiveness, truth and justice

“Peace” today seems a distant, utopian word without content, if not the object of endless instrumentalization,” said Cardinal Pizzaballa. He stressed that for lasting peace, both political and religious leaders must take into account the weight of “wounds, pain, resentment and anger” arising from this conflict, and he called especially to focus on forgiveness, truth and justice.

“It is therefore necessary that the pastoral care of the Church can place these three elements in a continuous, difficult, painful, complex, agonizing and tiring dialogue with each other,” he said. “But it is a fruitful process that respects the rights of God and man and, little by little, in the times that we do not have, builds prospects for peace.”

“Peace needs the witness of clear and strong gestures from all believers, but it must also be proclaimed and defended with equally clear words,” he said, saying that as believers “our prophecy will be our daily witness.”

Ceasefire and release of hostages

Before the conference, Cardinal Pizzaballa told journalists that a ceasefire would be a “first step towards other perspectives of a political nature, all of which, however, must be constructed.” He explained that hostilities must first cease and that, on the one hand, there must be the liberation of Israeli hostages, and “at least some” Palestinian political prisoners, “and then we will see.”

He also suggested that the role of the Holy See is not to engage “in mediation, especially in such complex and problematic realities,” but rather “to create the premises and the contexts in which this can happen.”

The Pope’s support for the parish in Gaza

Answering questions from the audience, Cardinal Pizzaballa also spoke about the situation of the 462 refugees in the Latin Catholic parish in Gaza. He underlined the closeness of Pope Francis, as he calls the pastor every day and also sends help.

The cardinal said the military situation in Gaza was “calmer” than immediately after the October 7 attacks, but still “precarious” and “difficult” due to the lack of food and water. “They keep themselves alive, they are good,” he said of the refugees.