The president of the U.S. bishops’ conference called for a special collection to bolster the Catholic Church’s response to a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war continues to grind on.
Israel Palestine
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo sets Friday as day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine and the Holy Land
The pope issued his appeal at the end of his public audience in the Vatican on Wednesday, as efforts are underway to bring a ceasefire in Gaza and broker a peace accord between Ukraine and Russia.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo calls on faithful to pray and fast for peace in Holy Land and Ukraine this Friday
“I ask all the faithful to spend Aug. 22 in fasting and prayer, asking the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to dry the tears of those who suffer because of the armed conflicts underway.”
Posted inNews Analysis
Could Pope Leo go to Gaza? Probably not.
Can Pope Leo visit Gaza? Calls for him to do so have mounted in recent weeks, most notably with an Aug. 12 Instagram post from Madonna. But it’s not that easy.
Posted inNews
Madonna urges Pope Leo to visit Gaza ‘before it’s too late’
Addressing Pope Leo XIV, Madonna wrote: “Most Holy Father. Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late. As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering.”
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican to United Nations: Two-state solution in Israel and Palestine is ‘only’ path to lasting peace
“Only through patient and inclusive dialogue” can “a just and lasting conflict resolution can be achieved” in the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, said the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
U.S. bishops’ international policy chair urges Trump to expand humanitarian assistance in Gaza
The chair of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace put out a statement on July 31 demanding more humanitarian action for those in Gaza.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
‘Lives hanging by a thread’: Looking at hunger and starvation in Gaza
Observers around the world have grown weary of the images of starving children and desperate people gunned down while trying to collect bags of flour or boxes of food.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Cardinal Pizzaballa: Christ is not absent from Gaza. He is crucified in the wounded.
Cardinal Pizzaballa and Patriarch Theophilos III gave a press conference after visiting the Holy Family Parish church, which was struck by Israeli forces.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Leo condemns Israel’s attack against church, calls for end to ‘barbarity’
“I again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Pope Leo said.