Gaza City, May 16, 2018 / 12:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis lamented the latest violence in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, expressing his distress that the region is “increasingly moving away from the path of peace, dialogue and negotiations.”
More than 100 Palestinians protesting at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel have been killed by Israeli soldiers in the past six weeks, according to Palestinian officials. Some 10,000 more have been injured.
I express my great sorrow over the dead and wounded in the Holy Land and the Middle East. Violence never leads to peace. Therefore, I call on all sides involved and the international community to renew efforts so that dialogue, justice and peace may prevail.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) May 16, 2018
The Vatican has long supported a two-state solution established via peaceful negotiations. When the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to recognize the State of Palestine in 2012, the Holy See began referring to Palestine as such. Saint John Paul II first opened Vatican diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1994, and met with PLO leader Yasser Arafat on numerous occasions.
Most recently, during a United Nations debate on “the Palestinian question,” the Holy See representative, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, reiterated the Vatican’s support for a two-state solution, calling it “only viable way of fulfilling the aspirations for peaceful co-existence among Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
“Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security,” continued Archbishop Auza.
“To have the best chance of success, peace talks must take place in an atmosphere free from violence. The ongoing violence simply underlines how overdue a just and lasting resolution is,” Auza said in the UN Security Council open debate April 26.
Palestinians in Gaza had been protesting on a weekly basis since March 30. These protests culminated May 14 when tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied near the fence dividing Gaza from Israel. Palestinians were reported to have hurled explosives and flaming kites at Israel, and rushed at the fence. They were met by Israeli army sniper fire and tear gas.
More than 60 people from Palestine were killed and thousands injured. It was the largest death toll in a single day in the ongoing conflict since 2014.
One official of Hamas, the Islamist organization which governs the Gaza Strip, has said that 50 of the 62 Palestinians killed May 14-15 were members of the group.
In an emergency security council meeting May 15, the U.N. human rights office acknowledged Israel’s rights to defend its borders, but said that Israel’s use of lethal force violated international norms. It suggested that Israel arrest any protester who reached the fence.
Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said May 15 that “An attempt to approach or crossing or damaging the fence do not amount to a threat to life or serious injury and are not sufficient grounds for the use of live ammunition.”
“This is also the case with regards to stones and Molotov cocktails being thrown from a distance at well-protected security forces located behind defensive positions,” he continued.
Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton and Christopher Chessun, the Anglican Bishop of Southwark, said in a May 15 joint statement that “The terrible loss of life in Gaza caused by the Israeli army’s use of live fire against civilians is to be condemned unequivocally.”
“Israel has a right to defend itself but also has the moral and legal responsibility not to use disproportionate force and not to prevent the injured from receiving medical treatment,” they continued.
They concluded by calling for a “peaceful two state solution with Jerusalem as the shared capital.”
Pope Francis reacted with sorrow for the dead and the wounded, and publically prayed to Mary, the Queen of Peace, asking “all the parties involved and the international community to renew their commitment so that dialogue, justice and peace prevail,” in his May 16 General Audience.
May 14 was a significant date in both Israel and Gaza. It marked the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel. For Israelis, this day gained added significance with the U.S. embassy opening in its new location in Jerusalem, which Israel has long viewed as its capital despite the absence of international recognition.
Palestinians remember this anniversary as “Nakba Day” on May 15, a pained remembrance of the refugee crisis created by the 1948 founding of Israel, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were uprooted from their homes, either fleeing or being forced to leave.
Following President Donald Trump’s December announcement that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move its embassy, Pope Francis issued an appeal that the international community respect the “status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant Resolutions of the United Nations,” on December 6.
The U.N. had previously proposed that Jerusalem should eventually become the capital of the two states of Israel and Palestine.
U.S. bishops also wrote a letter to the then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in January urging that the U.S. embassy remain in Tel Aviv, expressing their concern that the move would erode the U.S. commitment to the a two-state solution, which “USCCB has long supported.”
“Only the emergence of a viable and independent Palestinian state living alongside a recognized and secure Israel will bring the peace for which majorities of both Israelis and Palestinians yearn. This two-state solution enhances Israeli security, preserves Israel as a Jewish majority democratic state, gives Palestinians the dignity of their own state, allows access to the Holy Sites of all three faiths, promotes economic development in the region, and undermines extremists who exploit the conflict,” wrote the U.S. bishops in a previous 2015 statement outlining their position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The ongoing conflict assaults the dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis, with the suffering people in Gaza carrying a particularly heavy burden,” continued the bishops’ statement.
1.8 million Palestinians live in Gaza, where Monday’s violence occured. It is a densely populated Palestinian strip of land surrounded by Israel and currently under Israeli blockade. The impoverished area often experiences power cuts, and it is difficult for goods to get into or out of Gaza due to its restricted access.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster spoke with a Catholic parish priest in Gaza, Father Mario da Silva, May 16, who told him that life is hard and “everyone is desperate with shortages of water and other basic necessities.” The Gaza priest also said that he was encouraged to hear that people were praying for the people of Gaza.
Gaza is governed by Hamas, an Islamist group recognized as a terrorist organization and which has called for the destruction of Israel. The group has repeatedly used rockets and suicide bombings to attack Israel since its founding in 1987. Hamas in Gaza is split from the PLO, which governs the West Bank, further complicating any potential peace negotiations with Israel.
The Holy See and Catholic bishops continue to advocate for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict urging recognition of the human dignity of the people caught on both sides of the conflict.
The previously mentioned U.S. bishops’ statement continued: “The path to peace in the Holy Land requires respect for the human rights and dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians. People of good will on both sides of the conflict want the same thing: a dignified life worthy of the human person.”
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Peace is precious. Non-violence is a time tested value. Democracy is a continuous process. In a democracy, each one is invited to contribute to the peace process. Long live democracy.
I am glad that the US is not a democracy, but a republic, since all democracies end in tyranny. Donald Trump was elected on Nov. 3, but morning came and it was stolen with tens of thousands of illegal ballots. They told us beforehand what they were going to do and they did it. If Biden is installed on Jan. 20 we will then be a banana republic. And one other thing, most of the protesters were let in by the police and were antifa. President Trump’s voters are peaceful protesters unlike the demoncrats.
Yes, this must be condemned, this movement (Pope Francis). Francis correctly calls for healing the violence. Condemn the movement? The movement is at least 72 million Americans who voted for Trump, many who faithfully hold to Catholicism. Who are against abortion. Who risk defending the unborn. Who reject homosexuality and its threat to the traditional family. Who are willing to stand up for religious liberty. What keeps us together as a Nation is exactly this sense of revolutionary Liberty of the founders, a belief in God given freedom, the inherent rights to live without immoderate restriction, to believe in a saving God, corrupted by a Catholic Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy in his opinion defining liberty sans principals Planned Parenthood E PA v Casey. Likely the intellectual catalyst that divided more conservative Christians and Mid Westerners from urban hardened hostile Marxist socialists. Result of the election ignited the spark, the volatility of the speech, yes even Trump’s admittedly narcissistic but not wholly untrue speech, march, the attack on the Capital that is perceived as betraying that most valued premise of God given freedom. We’re in for a fight, or the cowardly decision to lay down and enjoy the remaining moments of just peace until that is wrenched away from us. Our challenge is in response to the question, where does justice lie? In keeping up political decorum? Certainly not in violence. Rather it’s in the determined quest for the true and the good. Our failure as a Nation with the election of a moral turncoat will end in the suffering, and hopefully to find in disaster the redemption of those of us who have failed themselves and country. And many of us God.
When the Pope speaks of condemning ¨this¨ movement, it is a stretch to interpret it as his condemning all who voted for Trump. He is referring to any movement that involves violence.
The Holy Father is quite likely not knowing the ground situation and is unaware of the nuances – the mainstream media tar everyone with the same brush and he probably naively believed that narrative.
It is obvious that those who entered the Capitol also included Antifa / paid actors. Plus some of the events were cleverly staged and raise a lot of questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0AM9xPFNFc
That said, re the ´many who faithfully hold to Catholicism´ bit – well the ´many´ bit is debatable. How many among that ´many´ adhere to the teaching of Humanae Vitae?
The tide will turn within a fortnight, and then of course, it remains to be seen what the ¨many…who reject homosexuality and its threat to the traditional family¨ are going to do when the ¨most pro-gay President¨ – https://twitter.com/LogCabinGOP/status/1296039209891819520 – continues his ´campaign to decriminalize homosexuality in 71 countries´ >> https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7092519/Trump-Republican-president-promote-LGBT-Pride-Month.html
What will they do when Trump ´accommodates´ the demand from some ¨Republican conservatives¨ such as https://logcabin.org/adoption/ (or those among them who will move to any new party that may be formed) to continue to allow ¨LGBT couples¨ to adopt or foster children?
Do those ¨who faithfully hold to Catholicism¨ have the numbers as well as the political will, courage, stomach and determination to overturn the ¨anthropological regression¨ of ´…laws “assimilating” homosexual relationships to marriage´? – https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-calls-for-civil-union-law-for-same-sex-couples-in-shift-from-vatican-stance-12462
´…(The Pope) expressed concern that if same-sex couples “are given adoption rights, there could be affected children. Every person needs a male father and a female mother that can help them shape their identity.”…´
This non-Catholic expressed one aspect of the problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWpvf-tZWIY
The system is broken. We are broken.
Kyrie eleison!
Yes, all isn’t black and white. We, nevertheless, mustn’t adopt your presumed omniscience and disparaging response. We hold fast to Christ and as priests we witness fearlessly to his truth. He will not abandon us as long as we hold firm. That’s what I convey to the faithful and to you.
Unsure what led to the ´omniscience´ label. [As an aside, I was reminded of ¨The aims of leftist labeling and censoring of conservatives as extremists¨ – https://www.debatez.com/forums/topic/the-aims-of-leftist-labeling-and-censoring-of-conservatives-as-extremists/ – so is this a case of the shoe being on the other foot?!] 🙂
In any case, if it is because of the confidence (based on multiple reports from various sources) that some things will happen in the coming days including the reversal of the tide, – that does not mean I know everything, nor do I claim to be ´omniscient´.
´disparaging response´?
Again, another (wrong) perception / interpretation.
I was simply pointing out the truth as borne witness through the content in the cited web pages – the intent being to point out stuff that needs to be highlighted for the benefit of those who may not quite be aware of those things. That is to say, it was merely to indicate areas where there are inconsistencies and work to do – which that non-Catholic woman has also rightly flagged in some respect.
If I intended to be disparaging, I would not have included myself in saying WE are broken.
I’m not convinced that Pope Francis has a clue what he’s talking about when he wades into U.S. politics.
“But we have to understand well that it does not repeat, learning from history.”
Shouldn’t we do the same for McCarrick? The report published by Vatican didn’t seem to impress most people I follow. I haven’t read it myself, but have been hearing it’s essentially just a report of blaming here and there, instead of admitting what’s going wrong in the Church / Vatican and how it could be solved. As a Catholic, I’m really sad I have to write something like this as a public comment, but I think we Catholics deserve to know what’s really going wrong so we can work together to prevent the same thing. Unfortunately, our dear pope seems to prefer silence when people tried to clarify controversial / ambiguous topics.
I’m astonished that he is astonished. Did he not say to “make a mess” and that “chaos is good” and he would be” seen as the Pope who divided the Church?” Does he not know what the earthly result of that is?
And silence about the violence against Christians in China? Selective astonishment.
Well, yes.
Good point. Truthfully ,I was pretty astonished at the mayhem in DC but compare the state of affairs here to what’s going on in communist China.
I think of everything going on in the world that’s disturbing and our betrayal of Christians in China has to be one of the worst offenses. Imagine what the early missionaries would think of us.
I am astonished that the Pope, to by my knowledge, has issued no statement in response to the legalization of abortion in his native land. I am astonished that such a man is the Vicar of Christ.
The Pope is astonished and condemns the violence?? Where was he when the BLM and antifa crowd set a church on fire across the street from the White House last summer and Donald Trump stepped out alone to present a picture of calm and authority? For which he was, as always , attacked by the Democrats,who complained the rioters were roughly treated, and who seemed to have no trouble letting the country burn all summer in Blue states. In fact the DEMs took the trouble to kneel in solidarity with the rioters!!! But now they are shocked!! Shocked they say, that a few protesters trashed Congressional offices. I do not support anyone rioting. But even less do I support smug self-serving politicians such as those on the left. Rules/Laws are supposed to apply to ALL or they should apply to NONE. For more than 2 centuries Americans have grown used to being the objects of hate. We do not care what non-Americans think of us.