Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who serves as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, which encompasses Gaza, declared this Easter period for Christians in Gaza intolerable, an objective reality. He acknowledged the area’s past trials, both diverse and economic, but emphasized that this is the first time the region has witnessed genuine hunger.
He expressed his concern over the United States’ lack of support, considering that they had always played the role of a problem-solver in the past. He suggested that it is time for his community to step in, though he expressed uncertainty over how and when such an effort could materialise.
During his speech, he compared the current difficulty to the solitude Jesus experienced in Gethsemane, a sentiment he claimed was solidarity felt by all present, citing the Vatican news article. Operating as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 2020, Cardinal Pizzaballa is responsible for the Latin rite churches linked to Rome in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus.
Reflecting on his 24 years in service, he admitted to never having witnessed such palpable hatred, violence, vengeance, suspicion, and intense resentment. He keeps in constant communication with the Catholics in Gaza, a community of merely 1,000 people, mostly Greek Orthodox, among whom only 180 are Catholics.
The entire community has sought refuge in two Gaza city churches. The Holy Family Church, Gaza’s lone Catholic church, houses just below 600 people, while another 249 people are taking shelter in the Greek Orthodox Church of St Porphyrius, which was targeted in a bombing in October that resulted in at least 18 fatalities among the 350 sheltering there.
The Jerusalem-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate labelled the bombardment as an unignorable war crime, while an Israeli army spokesperson stated that fighter jets had targeted a nearby terrorist group’s command post, damaging a church wall in the process. Prior to this, when the Israeli military instructed northern Gaza’s civilian populace to relocate south, the majority of Christian families opted to remain within their churches.
Cardinal Pizzaballa recalls how, despite the onset of war and the army’s evacuation pleas, many inhabitants of Gaza, including a myriad of Christians, chose to remain. This decision was mainly influenced by their lack of alternatives. The situation in Gaza is exacerbating as it continues to be unsafe and no corner of it is left untouched by the turmoil of war.
While Gazans in general suffer from isolation and deprivation of freedom due to Israel’s continuous 16-year siege, Christians are further alienated in the society and job market by Hamas and other radical Islamic factions. The Christian population, which stood at approximately 7,000 in 2007, has dramatically plunged to a seventh of that figure today.
In the meantime, the Church of Ireland, based in Dublin, has accumulated €125,000 thus far for the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, administered by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. This church and the hospital share a longstanding bond and have been raising funds over the years. Its current fundraising aim stands at €250,000 for the hospital. Over the course of Lent, individuals were urged to contribute €1 daily to aid in refurbishing or substituting the hospital’s solar panels, mend its cancer unit and provide essential trauma care for children. A ‘Shine a Light’ GoFundMe page also exists to aid fundraising efforts.
Archbishop of Dublin, Michael Jackson, highlights the apolitical nature of their fundraising, underpinning it to the historic ties with the Anglican counterparts in the Jerusalem Diocese who manage the Al Ahli Hospital, providing services to people of all ethnicities, faiths and classes.
“It’s critical that we heighten our response as the war wages on, claiming more lives every day and intensifying the humanitarian crisis daily,” asserted Archbishop Jackson. In an Easter message, he lamented the world’s incapacity to promote, preserve or ensure peace despite the grim reality of warfare and societal decay that it awakens to, particularly during Easter.