Patriarch Pizzaballa Urges Global Christian Solidarity for Gaza

Jerusalem, May 19, 2025: On Sunday, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, called on Christians around the world to intensify their efforts to aid those suffering in Gaza. Speaking during an interview with the SIR news agency following Pope Leo XIV’s Regina Caeli address and homily, the Patriarch emphasised that true peace, rooted in the love of Christ, is urgently needed in the Holy Land and beyond.

“The answer is peace,” he said, clarifying that only the peace which emanates from Christ can begin to heal the divisions, hatred, and violence gripping many regions.

Drawing on the Pope’s homily during the Mass of Inauguration, referencing Jesus’ words to Peter: “Do you love me?” Patriarch Pizzaballa said this became “the paradigm of Christian life, whose result is peace.”

He explained that if a person has love for God and their neighbour, then peace comes naturally. This peace, the Patriarch argued, is “the kind we all need, everywhere in the world, but especially in the Holy Land.”

Patriarch Pizzaballa pointed out that of late, the word “peace” has been repeated many times. For many people, especially those living in places ravaged by conflict, the notion of “brotherly love” is difficult to accept. He said it “seems abstract, far removed from reality”.

Despite this, he urged Christians not to become disillusioned or passive. “We cannot afford the luxury of giving up or standing still,” he declared, especially as children, families, and the elderly in Gaza face starvation due to disrupted humanitarian aid.

Calling for active solidarity, Patriarch Pizzaballa encouraged the Christian community to respond not with fear, but with a love that transcends boundaries and prompts tangible action. “We must do everything possible to bring help,” he concluded, echoing the Pope’s appeal to remember and support those suffering in silence.

This joint plea from the leaders of the Catholic Church comes as conflict continues to devastate lives in Gaza and other war-affected regions, demanding renewed moral responsibility from the global Christian faithful.

Courtesy: Vatican News