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Pope Francis, Jerusalem patriarch react to violence between Israel and Hamas

October 8, 2023 Catholic News Agency 2
Pope Francis prays during a general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 20, 2023. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, celebrates Easter Sunday Mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 4, 2021. / Credit: (L) Daniel Ibanez/CNA. (R) Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Rome Newsroom, Oct 8, 2023 / 08:45 am (CNA).

Pope Francis and the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem have responded to the sudden outbreak of conflict in Israel and Palestine over the weekend.

The pope said at the end of a public address on Sunday he is following the violence “with apprehension and sorrow,” and issued an appeal to “please stop weapons attacks!”

The head of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called for a de-escalation of the situation in a statement Oct. 7.

“The continuing bloodshed and declarations of war remind us once again of the urgent need to find a lasting and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in this land,” he said.

A series of rocket attacks and incursions on Israel from Hamas militants had reportedly killed hundreds and wounded many between Saturday and Sunday morning.

The surprise attacks began early on the morning of Oct. 7, the start of the observance of the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.

Israel reacted to the attacks by fighting back in southern Israel and launching airstrikes in Gaza. Israeli military official Daniel Hagari told reporters Sunday morning that “hundreds of terrorists” had been killed during fighting in Gaza and southern Israel, the Associated Press reports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday Israel is “at war.”

In an appeal at the end of his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis said “terrorism and war do not bring any solution, but only death and suffering for many innocent people. War is a failure. Every war is a failure.”

He said he is close to the families of the victims and called for prayers “that there will be peace in Israel and Palestine.”

The pope also recalled that the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary, and asked Catholics to continue to pray through the intercession of Mary “for the gift of peace for the many countries of the world marked by war and conflict.”

Pizzaballa, who was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in a consistory Sept. 30, called the sudden outbreak of violence in Israel and Palestine “very concerning due to its extension and intensity.”

“The too many casualties and tragedies, which both Palestinians and Israeli families have to deal with, will create more hatred and division, and will destroy more and more any perspective of stability,” the patriarch added.

“We ask God to inspire world leaders in their intervention for the implementation of peace and concord,” he said, “so that Jerusalem may be a house of prayer for all peoples.”

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem also announced that “due to the present circumstances,” celebrations in honor of Pizzaballa’s inclusion in the College of Cardinals have been canceled until further notice.

An Oct. 7 joint statement from the patriarchs and heads of the Churches in Jerusalem also called for the protection of both Israelis and Palestinians.

“As custodians of the Christian faith, deeply rooted in the Holy Land, we stand in solidarity with the people of this region, who are enduring the devastating consequences of continued strife,” the statement said.

The Christian leaders in the Holy Land condemned “any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or faith” and called for all parties to immediately cease violence.

“Our faith, which is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ, compels us to advocate for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians,” it said.

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News Briefs

Secrecy at the Synod on Synodality: What we know about delegates’ confidentiality requirements  

October 6, 2023 Catholic News Agency 1
Speaking at a press briefing on Oct. 6, Vatican spokesman Paolo Ruffini said that there needs to be “a certain amount of confidentiality about who takes the floor and who doesn’t in order to leave the space open … for ‘conversation in the Spirit.’” / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Oct 6, 2023 / 13:24 pm (CNA).

The roughly 450 people in the room during the Synod on Synodality assembly are “bound to confidentiality and discretion” regarding what is said in Synod discussions. 

Unlike at past Synod of Bishops meetings, where the “pontifical secret” only applied to sharing what was said by others in the synod hall, the Synod on Synodality’s official regulations no longer allow Synod delegates to share their personal interventions with the public. 

The rules, published this week on the first day of the 16th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, stipulate that all Synod delegates are “bound to confidentiality and discretion regarding both their own interventions and the interventions of other participants,” a duty that it says will continue to remain in force after the Synod assembly has ended.

For the first time, the Vatican communications office is also withholding the identities of which delegates are addressing the Synod assembly each day and the members of each working group, opting instead to summarize some of the topics discussed over the course of the day’s speeches and small-group discussions.

Speaking at a press briefing on Oct. 6, Vatican spokesman Paolo Ruffini said that there needs to be “a certain amount of confidentiality about who takes the floor and who doesn’t in order to leave the space open … for ‘conversation in the Spirit.’”

“It’s not important who says what, but it is an exchange and mutual listening,” said Ruffini, who serves as the president of the information commission for the Synod and is also the head of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. 

When asked about what the potential punishments would be for breaking the confidentiality regulations, Ruffini laughed and said that the rules do not mean that “there is a policeman who is going to punish you.”

“It is an assembly of brothers and sisters who have decided to speak freely during this specific period of time and, of course, there is a personal discernment in all of this,” he said.

“We are not talking about punishments,” he added. “We are talking about this personal discernment that was asked for by the pope to the members.”

According to the Vatican, the confidentiality requirement exists “in order to guarantee the freedom of expression of each and all regarding their thoughts and to ensure the serenity of the discernment in common, which is the main task entrusted to the assembly.”

Pope Francis calls Synod to ‘fast’ from public speech

Pope Francis underlined “the priority of listening” in his opening speech of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 4, calling for “a certain fasting from public speech” by the Synod delegates during the nearly monthlong assembly.

“Some will say — and are saying — that the bishops are afraid and that is why they don’t want the journalists talking. No. The work of journalists is very important. But we have to help them so that they can also speak of this journeying in the Spirit,” Pope Francis said.

“More than speaking, the priority is that of listening. I ask journalists to please make this known to people, that they realize that the priority is to listen.”

The pope went on to describe how past synods during his pontificate were influenced by “worldliness” and the media before they even began. 

“During the Synod on the Family, public opinion, the fruit of our worldliness, [thought] that communion was going to be given to the divorced, and in that spirit we began the synod,” Francis said.

“When we had the Synod for the Amazon, public opinion, pressure, [thought] that viri probati were going to be [ordained], and we went in under that pressure. Now there is speculation about this synod: ‘What are they going to do?’ ‘Maybe ordain women?’ … Those are things they are saying out there.”

During the Synod on Synodality, communication about what takes place in the synod hall is being managed by a “Commission for Information,” which is “mandated to report on the progress of the synodal assembly.”

The Synod rules forbid participants from recording, filming, or disclosing their interventions in the Synod’s General Congregations and in the Working Groups, but note that an official audiovisual recording of the General Congregations is kept in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Synod.

During official press briefings, Ruffini, the president of the information commission, has limited himself to summarizing the structure of the assembly and to listing off “various themes” and subjects that people brought up in discussions.

Summarizing the 22 three-minute inventions given in the Synod assembly on Friday morning, Ruffini said that the topics included “the suffering of the Church in several parts of the world,” the closeness of the Church to the Ukrainian people, seminary formation, the topic of “the Eucharist as food of the synodal Church,” and how the Church can be present to young people who spend so much time on the internet. 

Sheila Pires, the secretary of the Synod’s information commission, told journalists that the atmosphere inside Paul VI Hall has been “an atmosphere of joy.”

“As much as there may be some tensions here and there, above all there is really an atmosphere of joy,” she said.

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