VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis reaffirmed Saturday the special relationship between Christians and Jews amid rising anti-Semitism since the outbreak of the Gaza war in a letter to Israel’s Jews that he said him, was motivated by messages from Jewish organizations around the world.
The letter served as a late reparation after Francis was criticized for his initial response to Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7. Francis said the Holy Land has been “plunged into an unprecedented spiral of violence,” part of what the pope called a sort of “fragmented world war,” with serious consequences for the lives of many populations. »
“My heart is torn at the sight of what is happening in the Holy Land, because of so much division and so much hatred,” the pontiff wrote. “The whole world is watching what is happening in this country with apprehension and pain. »
In November, the pope ignited a firestorm by using the word “terrorism” in separate, closed meetings with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through war.
Without elaborating, Francis said in the letter to Israeli Jews that he was moved by communications from Jewish friends and organizations around the world to “assure you of my closeness and affection.” I embrace each of you and especially those who are consumed by anxiety, pain, fear and even anger.
He said Catholics “are very concerned about the terrible increase in attacks against Jews around the world. We had hoped that “never again” would be a refrain heard by new generations, but we now see that the road ahead requires ever closer collaboration to eradicate these phenomena.
“My heart is close to you, to the Holy Land, to all the peoples who inhabit it, Israelis and Palestinians, and I pray that the desire for peace prevails in all,” he said.
Reconciliation between Jews and Catholics provides “a horizon” for imagining a future “where light replaces darkness, where friendship replaces hatred, where cooperation replaces war.”
“Together, Jews and Catholics, we must embark on this path of friendship, solidarity and cooperation, seeking ways to repair a destroyed world, working together throughout the world, and particularly in the Holy Land, to find the ability to see in the face of each person the image of God in which we were created,” Francis wrote.
