War in the Middle East - Mass in Bethlehem: Solidarity with people in Gaza
The highest representative of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, expressed solidarity with the people in the embattled Gaza Strip at midnight mass in Bethlehem.
Cardinal Pizzaballa compared the situation to the biblical story of Mary and Joseph, for whom there was no room in the inn. "Just as it was for Mary and Joseph, today it seems to us that there is no room for Christmas," he said that night.
"At this moment, our thoughts cannot be far from those who have lost everything in this war, including their loved ones, and who are now displaced, alone and paralyzed by their grief," Pizzaballa said at the Mass. "My thoughts go out without exception to all those affected by this war, in Palestine and Israel and the whole region." He also mentioned the hostages taken from Israel to the Gaza Strip and "people sitting in prisons without the right to a trial". He was obviously referring to Palestinian so-called administrative detainees in Israel.
Call for reconciliation
Pizzaballa also said that the Palestinians had been living under Israeli occupation for decades and were waiting in vain for the international community to find a solution to the conflict. He called on people to create an inner space for reconciliation. "There will be no justice and no peace unless we create space for them, through our open and generous 'yes'."
The Latin Patriarch had led a much smaller Christmas procession from Jerusalem to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Sunday in view of the Gaza war. The usual larger celebrations in the West Bank town, which Christians venerate as the birthplace of Jesus, were canceled due to the war.
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- Despite the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, particularly the Gaza war, the Catholic Church continues to show solidarity with the people, evident in the midnight mass held in Gaza's neighbor, Bethlehem.
- The situation in Gaza, marked by displacement and grief after losing loved ones and homes, was compared by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to the biblical story of Mary and Joseph's hardship during Christmas.
- During the Mass in Bethlehem, Pizzaballa extended his thoughts to all individuals affected by the conflict, not just in Gaza and Israel but across the entire Middle East, including hostages and Palestinian administrative detainees.
- Expressing a call for reconciliation, Pizzaballa lamented the Palestinians' decades-long struggle under Israeli occupation and emphasized the need for an inner space for reconciliation as a prerequisite for justice and peace.
- Earlier in the week, Pizzaballa led a smaller Christmas procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, showing solidarity with Palestinians amid the tensions and cancellations of the usual West Bank town celebrations.
- The plight of the people in the Palestinian territories, including Gaza and Ramallah, continues to be a pressing issue, with international calls for ceasefires and a solution to the ongoing Middle East conflicts.
Source: www.stern.de
