His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa: Bombing Gaza is not the solution

His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (REUTERS)

In an interview with Vatican Media, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, expresses his sorrow for all the victims of the conflict that is bloodying the Holy Land, saying Hamas has committed unjustifiable atrocities but that "starving two million people will not help."

By Federico Piana

His is a bleeding heart, torn by grief for the thousands of victims who are increasing every day. But it is also a divided heart, “because in my community there are Palestinians and [Israelis]. And holding everything together at this time is really very complicated.” Speaking with Vatican Media, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, expresses his concern at the increasing difficulty in interceding for both sides in the dispute. Nonetheless, he says, “One has to try, one cannot give up.” Efforts for peace certainly cannot be set aside.

Gaza: An immense tragedy

The tragedy of Gaza is in His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s eyes and mind, with images he may never be able to erase. It is disturbing to hear him list the dead, who “number over 5,000, among them many women and children. And then the neighborhoods razed to the ground by shelling, no water, no food, no electricity. It is a situation that I cannot understand. I also wrote about it in a letter addressed to the faithful of my diocese.” He asserts bluntly that bombing will never lead to any solution.

Open humanitarian corridors

The total closure of the Gaza Strip, in which two million people are now trapped without basic necessities, prompts His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to call forcefully for “the opening of humanitarian corridors that will allow injured people to be treated, and [will allow] access to humanitarian aid trucks. After all, those two million people are not all followers of Hamas.” The Cardinal repeats: “We condemned what Hamas did in southern [Israel], these are atrocities that have no justification. But the answer to this cannot be to starve two million people.”

Fear for Christians

His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa's heart also beats for the fate of Gaza’s Christians, who have taken refuge in two separate parishes, the Latin Parish of the Holy Family and the Greek Orthodox parish of St. Porphyry, the latter of which has been struck by some of the bombings. “Contacts with them are daily,” he says. “Through humanitarian organizations, we try to get them what they need. We have also sent the authorities the precise location of our communities to prevent further tragedies. For now, there is nothing more we can do”…

This interview was originally publsihed on the website of Vatican News. Please click here to read the full text.