{"id":191367,"date":"2025-11-20T20:39:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T20:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/191367\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T20:39:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T20:39:11","slug":"cardinal-pizzaballa-to-achieve-peace-we-must-listen-to-others-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/191367\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal Pizzaballa: To achieve peace, we must listen to others’ pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking to Vatican News, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem expresses hope that the U.S. plan will lead to solutions offering \u201cclearer prospects\u201d and relief for the Palestinian population of Gaza. <\/p>\n

By Andrea Tornielli and Francesca Sabatinelli<\/b><\/p>\n

Gaza remains under Israeli bombardment, even just hours ago.\u00a0It is crucial to move toward phase two of the United States\u2019 plan, leading to a political process aimed at achieving a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

After the Security Council\u2019s adoption of the resolution, the United Nations has committed itself to pressing forward and \u201ctranslating diplomatic momentum into concrete and urgent measures on the ground.\u201d These concrete actions must take the form of steps that, many hope, can become a turning point for Palestinians exhausted by war and devastation.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Vatican News, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, urges the international community\u00a0to take the necessary steps to implement solutions that might bring relief to a people who are reeling from two years of bombings and now suffering the harsh winter conditions.<\/p>\n

Your Eminence, the UN Security Council\u2014Russia and China abstaining\u2014has voted in favor of the Gaza peace plan proposed by U.S. President Trump. The State of Palestine approves the plan, while Hamas says it will not disarm under those conditions. What is your response to the UN\u2019s decision, and how do you see the current situation? Is there hope?<\/b><\/p>\n

The UN\u2019s decision does not change anything on the ground, but it is nonetheless a recognition by the international community. Like all plans, it can never be perfect, but it is what we have. It is the only plan that has so far halted the expansion of the war and can offer at least a glimmer of hope for the Palestinian population\u2014and not just for them.<\/p>\n

So, we might say the UN vote is a sort of general endorsement by the international community that, while it changes nothing materially, is still important from an ideal and political standpoint. As for daily life in the region and the plan\u2019s concrete implementation, from the outset we knew that the various points of the Trump plan would be\u2014and will remain very difficult\u2014to carry out.<\/p>\n

We know Hamas has no intention of handing over its weapons. I think Israel also has little desire to withdraw entirely from the Strip. Both parties were required to accept this plan, but they face very real obstacles. Persistence is needed. The United States, together with Arab countries and Turkey, are the only ones capable of driving progress, because goodwill alone is not enough at this moment. Political courage is also needed to create solutions that can gradually lead to clearer prospects. But it will take a long time, and it will be exhausting.<\/p>\n

Recently, Gaza has fallen out of the media spotlight. Yet alarming reports continue to arrive from the Strip about the people\u2019s suffering, worsened by bad weather, rain, and mud\u2014something even the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, has spoken about. What is the situation? Can aid enter? What can be done concretely to help the Palestinians?<\/b><\/p>\n

Ordinary life has changed very little. The only difference\u2014thanks be to God and to those who secured it\u2014is the end of the blanket bombing. Aid is entering more regularly than before, and more reliably, but still far from sufficient given the needs for medicine, hospitals, tents, blankets\u2014especially with winter arriving. Water is needed\u2014of course\u2014but in Gaza \u201cwater\u201d often means mud in an already dire situation.<\/p>\n

So, in daily life nothing has really changed. There are no schools; hospitals are only partially operational; everything needs to be rebuilt. We are still in phase one: clearing rubble, uncovering and burying the dead still beneath it, and preparing even a minimal reconstruction plan\u2014which also requires a governance that does not yet exist and whose form is unknown.<\/p>\n

Everything remains to be done. And while the UN and others discuss the future, people continue to live in the same tragic conditions as before.<\/p>\n

\"Cardinal<\/p>\n

\n Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem \u00a0 (AFP or licensors)\n <\/p>\n

Alarming news also continues to come from the West Bank, especially with ongoing settler violence\u2014mosques burned, villages attacked, Palestinians prevented from harvesting their olives.\u00a0While there seems to be a growing awareness of the gravity of these acts within Israel, strong international action is still lacking. Without it, any future Palestinian state\u00a0with real territorial cohesion becomes practically impossible. What can you tell us about the situation there? What should\u2014or could\u2014the international community do? And what can we do?<\/b><\/p>\n

The situation in the Territories is worsening every day. I have photos from yet another attack on our Christian village of Taybeh: homes and cars vandalized, windows smashed, tires slashed. What happened last night in Taybeh\u2014serious as it is\u2014happens daily in many Palestinian villages. A few days ago, I received a request for help from the village of Aboud\u2014quite isolated\u2014not only from the parish but from the entire community, including the mayor, because they simply do not know whom to turn to.<\/p>\n

This sense of helplessness intensifies the weight of the situation: it seems there is no one to appeal to, no one to ask for justice. True, there have recently been some clashes between settlers and the army trying to restore order, but these are rare episodes. Most of the time, one witnesses a total lack of respect for the law\u2014any law\u2014and for human rights. Our fear is that the situation will continue and worsen.<\/p>\n

What can the international community do? It must speak out! Gaza was rightly discussed at length, though sadly now less so; but the situation in the Territories requires attention as well. Many countries have recently recognized Palestine as a state\u2014symbolically, since it does not yet exist. But now they must go further and outline the conditions and steps required. One cannot speak of a political process while these aggressions and hardships continue. I say this with a heavy heart because I do not like to spend my time denouncing things. But it is the truth, and I cannot remain silent.<\/p>\n

Your Eminence, you recently appealed for the resumption of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, which remain suspended\u2014with serious consequences for the Palestinian economy, especially for Christians. Can you speak on this? Can you renew your invitation for pilgrims to return to the places where Jesus lived, died, and rose?<\/b><\/p>\n

Absolutely! We speak of Gaza and the West Bank, but those areas are generally not part of pilgrims\u2019 ordinary itineraries. The Bethlehem area\u2014which is so important for pilgrims\u2014needs their presence, and pilgrimages are safe now. With the ceasefire, not only have the bombings in Gaza stopped, but also missile attacks from Yemen. There are no more alarms. It is safe to make a pilgrimage now.<\/p>\n

The few who have come have seen this for themselves. I repeat: the universal Church has been very close to us these years through prayer and concrete solidarity. But now a new phase is needed: concrete help shown also through physical presence. This does not bring not only spiritual benefit to the pilgrim. It also brings smiles to the many families who need not only financial help, but to see their Christian brothers and sisters present in the Holy Land.<\/p>\n

We are in the Jubilee Year, which is coming to an end. Many hoped that it would draw attention both to Rome and Jerusalem. These two cities are bound to one another. We cannot wait for the next Jubilee; we must resume the sacred journey now and return to our roots of faith\u2014a form of solidarity and Christian fraternity.<\/p>\n

We still have before our eyes the terrible images of Hamas\u2019 hostages in the tunnels. Yet we also hear new reports\u2014without images\u2014telling us that since 7 October, ninety-eight Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli prisons: one death every four days, amid allegations of human rights abuses. How do you respond to these figures?<\/b><\/p>\n

They are alarming. Several newspapers, including in Israel and the Holy Land, have reported on this\u2014though few, to be honest. In general, a climate of violence pervades everything, including how people think. I have often said that we have been invaded by hatred, which is not only a sentiment but turns into action and becomes a way of relating to others.<\/p>\n

Hatred, revenge, resentment express themselves in these forms too. I do not have precise documentation; I rely on what has been reported. But yes, many have died in prison\u2014and we know these are not Swedish prisons.<\/p>\n

\"Cardinal<\/p>\n

\n Cardinal Pizzaballa in front of the destruction in Gaza in 2024\n <\/p>\n

Your Eminence, at a recent conference you noted that in these past two years of war, religious leaders have often issued messages identical or similar to those of political leaders, effectively undermining interreligious dialogue. What is\u2014or should be\u2014the role of religions in this context?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, I have said this several times, and it\u2019s with sadness that I repeat it. Interreligious dialogue must resume because it is part of our religious identity; no religion is an island. We must reclaim it and give this witness as religious leaders and communities\u2014especially in the Middle East, where religion plays a crucial identity-forming role in civil, social, and even political life.<\/p>\n

And it is a fact that\u2014with few exceptions\u2014most local religious leaders have said nothing, or when they did speak, they spoke only to their own people, from their own perspective, without even a glance toward the other. And when there was a glance, it was negative\u2014a look of accusation or defense. All of this is concerning. We must break this vicious cycle.<\/p>\n

I do not speak only of Jews and Muslims; we Christians are in this too. We cannot pretend otherwise. After 7 October, we need to resume dialogue\u2014not only recalling what we said in the past, but also what we have failed to say in these two years, and why. We must begin again by listening.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve often expressed something that is quite challenging: we must not begin with analysis, but by listening to one another\u2019s pain. Everyone is weighed down by their own suffering. But there is also a disturbing inability\u2014or refusal\u2014to see the pain of others. Victimhood is one of our problems: everyone sees themselves as the sole victim and the other as the perpetrator.<\/p>\n

We must break out of this. Things do not change on their own; they change when someone opens a way. We must open, or reopen, that path. It will be arduous, but this is the task of religious leaders. You cannot look toward God and deny your neighbor\u2014yet that is exactly what we have done.<\/p>\n

Italian Bishop Tonino Bello used to say that war begins when the face of the other fades away. Perhaps we could say that peace begins when we listen to the pain of others\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Absolutely. If you recognize the other, you also recognize yourself. If you deny the other, you deny yourself. If the face of the other disappears, in the end your own disappears as well. We must look toward God, and rediscover ourselves in one another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speaking to Vatican News, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem expresses hope that the U.S. plan will lead to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,13,14,6,106706,1915,71,13453,11,12,15,16,5,106707,7,8,23039,1545,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-191367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-featured-news","11":"tag-featurednews","12":"tag-headlines","13":"tag-holy-land","14":"tag-interview","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-jerusalem","17":"tag-latest-news","18":"tag-latestnews","19":"tag-main-news","20":"tag-mainnews","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-pierbattista-pizzaballa","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-topstories","25":"tag-un","26":"tag-war","27":"tag-world","28":"tag-world-news","29":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115583960043864271","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}