Parish priest of the Holy Family church in the Strip: “We thank God and continue to pray that the commitments are respected. We are waiting to know the details about the return to Gaza City of hundreds of thousands of people who are in the south and the possibility of removing the wounded who need special attention. The Catholic bishops of the Holy Land to political leaders and the international community: “May a clear and fair political approach now be adopted for lasting peace.”
Milan () – In Gaza, the news that was eagerly awaited was received with prayers for peace. Just as it has been done every night during these endless 15 months of death and destruction. In Holy Family Latin Parish, the Strip’s small Catholic community, news of the ceasefire has also brought some relief. “People are celebrating because, as Pope Francis has said many times, war is a defeat for everyone,” commented the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, in a video in spanish which he posted on his Facebook profile last night. “The truce – he explains there – is good news, although its implementation will be very complicated. The mechanism is long and complex, some details have not yet been revealed. But it is known that they will release the Israeli hostages who have been suffering for almost a year and a half, deprived of their freedom. And, on the other hand, to the Palestinian prisoners who are in the hands of the State of Israel, but of whom the list has not yet been made known.”
In addition to the withdrawal of the military and the permission for the entry of humanitarian aid, there are two other aspects to which special attention is paid in the parish of the Holy Family, which is located in Gaza City, in the devastated north of the Strip. from Gaza. “There is talk of the return of people here to the north of Gaza, but so far there are few details on this subject – explains Father Romanelli in the video -. Of the million one hundred thousand inhabitants who lived in this area before the war, we have been left 400 thousand. So there are hundreds of thousands of people in the south living in tents, in caravans or in containers, and who are waiting to return. And then there is the question of the enormous number of injured people who need urgent medical attention, especially abroad, “because here the majority part of the health system has been destroyed by the bombings. “There are more than ten thousand injured or seriously ill people waiting for permission to leave the Gaza Strip for treatment. Many are very serious.”
“The ceasefire does not solve the conflict, but it is an absolutely necessary step,” the Argentine priest of the Incarnate Word congregation told us a few days ago, who on October 7, 2023 was outside the Strip and recently managed to return. to Gaza in May. Here he works together with another priest from his congregation, Father Yusuf Asad, an Egyptian, the nuns of his same congregation and some Missionaries of Charity, the sisters of Mother Teresa. “It will be a long road – he added today – but we thank God for this truce. And we pray that the commitments are respected and this is the beginning of the end of this war, that it truly brings peace between Palestine and Israel. A peace based on justice and reconciliation.”
“In these months the Christian community has suffered the same thing that everyone else has suffered: our Muslim neighbors, the civilians, the families of the neighborhood,” continues the missionary, who has done everything possible to respond to the primary needs of the Christians, mostly Greek Orthodox, who have taken refuge in the parish, and the Muslim population of the surrounding area. “Currently there are about five hundred of us in the Sagrada Familia grounds. “We have had to transform the school classrooms into rooms for families, but in any case we try to continue with the instruction of children and young people so that they do not lose the school year.” For them, some educational and recreational activities are also organized – especially by the religious -, a kind of oratory, to create a minimum sense of normality in a context where nothing is normal anymore.
“I’m afraid of the bombings and I dream of returning to our house, but they destroyed it – Natalie, 9 years old, wrote a few weeks ago -. I feel very sad and scared because every day we hear and see bombs and destruction. I hate war and I dream of feeling safe again. I cry every time I leave church because I’m afraid. “My parents constantly tell me that Jesus protects us, but I am afraid and I cry because I don’t want to lose anyone in my family.” “When they were besieging us – writes another refugee child in the parish, Amir, 11 years old – I feared that at any moment he could die. I think of the weapons manufacturers. Why do they do this? They are killing innocent people. We ask Jesus to end the war. We ask all Christians to pray for us.”
The future of these children and the need to truly begin a new page for the people of this land is also directed the statement released this morning by the Catholic bishops of the Holy Land about the ceasefire. “We are aware – they say – that the end of the war does not mean the end of the conflict. Genuine and lasting peace can only be achieved through a just solution that addresses the root causes of this protracted conflict. We pray that this ceasefire brings serenity and relief to all. May this moment of calm allow everyone to find solace, rebuild their own lives and look to the future with hope.”
The bishops affirm that they await “impatiently” the return of the pilgrims to the Holy Land, “designed to be a place of prayer and peace,” and invite them to continue looking to the future “with unwavering hope.” “May this ceasefire inspire new efforts at dialogue, mutual understanding and lasting peace for all – they say -. As we begin the Jubilee Year dedicated to hope that does not disappoint, we read in this event a sign that reminds us of God’s faithfulness.”
Finally, the bishops ask political leaders and the international community to “adopt a clear and fair political approach for the post-war period.” A future built on dignity, security and freedom for all people is a prerequisite for true and lasting peace. “We urge all parties to implement the immediate measures already agreed upon and to negotiate in good faith the future phases of the agreement.”
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