Guglielmo Gallone, Piotr Kowalczuk
“Cities have been razed to the ground. The reef no longer exists. I traveled on makeshift roads, among tents and sewers. One of the biggest plagues is rats, which bite. Especially children. And children are visible everywhere. They don’t go to school. We want to reopen them, but everything is missing,” said Cardinal Pizzaballa. Moreover, healthcare workers indicated that trained personnel are immediately needed to deal with the psychological trauma of children and mothers. At the same time, Israeli army airstrikes and shelling continue.
Situation in the occupied territories
The Patriarch indicated that an equally dramatic situation prevails in the West Bank in the Palestinian State, where “there is no law, and if there is, it is not made for Palestinians. Israeli settlers are allowed everything. They set up checkpoints everywhere, cut down trees, do not allow land to be cultivated. Assaults, thefts, and insults have become commonplace.”
Need for dialogue
Kard. Pizzaballa podkreślił, że obecnie najbardziej potrzeba dialogu, o który jest bardzo trudno. Wskazał, że „7 października” jako symbol brutalnego ataku Hamasu na południu Izraela trzy lata temu wrył się głęboko w świadomość Izrealczyków i Żydów: „Od tego dnia ostatnie wahania zniknęły. Bardzo trudno jest utrzymywać z nimi jasne i pokojowe relacje. Najbardziej skrajne grupy ludności żydowskiej nie stanowią jeszcze większości, ale cieszą się rosnącym poparciem”.
The language must change
The Patriarch noted that for years, both sides of the conflict have used very harsh language of brutal and exclusionary narratives. He called the situation, borrowing a term from Leo XIV, a “crisis of the word,” which, according to the Pope, lies at the root of many current conflicts. In conclusion, Cardinal Pizzaballa appealed to public opinion and the media: “Information that helps to understand is important. Do not follow trends. Moreover, this territory, the Holy Land, in a sense also belongs to us; we also belong to this land. We cannot isolate ourselves; we need empathy, understanding, and dialogue, without erecting new barriers. You must try to pull us out of this pit.”
