“Today, in all the churches of the Holy Land, the patriarchs and leaders of the Christian churches of Jerusalem invite the faithful to pray for an end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip and implore justice and peace for their land. I join with them and ask you to do the same, remembering, as they are saying, ‘the victims, the wounded, those with broken hearts, who are living in anguish and fear, that God bless them with consolation, patience, and the peace that proceeds from Him”.
The Holy Father affirmed that “the dramatic news that we are receiving from the Gaza Strip shows that the refusal to dialogue leads to situations that weigh unspeakably on the populations who are again victim to hatred and war”.
War and hatred are not a solution to problems. Most recent history again confirms this. Let us pray, then, that ‘the Baby in the manger … inspire the authorities and those responsible on both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, to act immediately to put an end to this tragic situation”.
George Patsourakos
We should all pray for a quick end to the war in Gaza between the Israelis and the Palestinians. War is not a solution to this problem, but rather makes it worse. The Israelis and Palestinians need to agree to a long-term peace solution — one in which neither side will attack the other!