Cardinal Pizzaballa expresses concern Holy Land will stay 'in a condition of neither war nor peace’
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem said conversation about solutions that aren’t followed with creation of practical, genuine solutions fosters a cynical attitude among people waiting for peace.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke with Vatican News Aug. 6 about the landscape of the Holy Land amid ongoing tensions and violence, expressing concern that the region will remain trapped in a gray area between war and peace that will continuously sow distrust among people.
“What worries me most at the moment is that we may remain trapped in this condition of neither war nor peace, in this ambiguous situation where people keep talking about solutions without actually creating real ones,” Cardinal Pizzaballa told the outlet. “That concerns me because it fosters an increasingly cynical attitude of distrust in people's hearts, and that is the greatest danger I see within the population today.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa gave the interview during his visit to Assisi for the inauguration of the interfaith Global House of Friendship and Hope, opening Aug. 7. His visit coincided with a Catholic youth event where Pope Leo was speaking.
Cardinal Pizzaballa told Vatican News that in Jerusalem, the situation is one of “great tension.”
Remarking on what Vatican News described as a cycle of hope for agreements and negotiations that are repeatedly disappointed, Cardinal Pizzaballa said that local Christians, like everyone else, “are deeply weary of this endless back-and-forth-of announcements that are then contradicted by events.”
“It has become part of daily life,” he continued. “Unfortunately, this has created an ever-growing sense of distrust among the population, to the point that people no longer believe anything, even when it turns out to be true. And when something genuinely positive does happen, people struggle to believe it because they are no longer accustomed to seeing good news. It is, in short, a very heavy situation.”
He said that Pope Leo has been present and continually well-informed about everything unfolding, and that the Pontiff is very close to the affected faithful. He also noted that a papal visit to the Holy Land will certainly happen “sooner or later” but added that “it must take place in a context of serenity.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa has remained close to both the faithful in Jerusalem and in Gaza at Holy Family Church, the only Catholic parish there. Cardinal Pizzaballa told the outlet that there are 541 people at Holy Family, adding, “We know every single one by name.” He noted that they are working in whatever ways possible “to return to normal life,” adding that efforts to reopen the school are underway and that a medical center was opened. He noted that the priests and religious sisters who are offering activities for Christian and non-Christian children.
“In the midst of such a devastated reality, we are trying above all to recreate an environment that is as healthy and peaceful as possible,” he said.
The cardinal also told Vatican News that people who he has met give him hope.
“Yes, hope remains, because there are so many people who continue to put themselves on the line in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel,” he said. “I constantly meet young people, but also older men and women — professors and others who have something to lose in terms of their relationships — yet they still choose to get involved, to build encounters, to defend others. There are still antibodies within that society that prevent the whole body from being overcome by this virus of violence.”
