New leaders are needed in the Holy Land to work toward a lasting peace, insists the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
“We need new faces that will help us to turn the page and to bring new light in these very wounded and deeply problematic situations of our relations between Israelis and Palestinians,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said.
The patriarch spoke to Aleteia on Friday, hours before the Israeli government voted to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal announced January 15. A truce between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, who have been at war over the past year and three months, could go into effect January 19.
[The interview runs about 10 minutes; watch it above.]
Cardinal Pizzaballa said that everyone is happy about the news that Israel and Hamas reached a deal this week that will pause the fighting and hopefully lead to a permanent peace.
“I think Christians, like anyone else, are very happy with the news of the ceasefire. We know that it is fragile; we know there is still some opposition. But anyway, it is a very important turning point in this long, very dramatic war, and we were expecting this for a long time, so we are all very happy,” he said.
Although there are aspects of the ceasefire agreement that are still unknown, what's important right now is the cessation of military hostilities, Cardinal Pizzaballa said, allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza – especially the restoration of a collapsed health system and reopening schools.
“It is the second year the schools are closed,” he said. “You cannot talk about the future without schools.”
Addressing the root causes of the conflict
The cardinal expounded on a statement that was issued by Catholic bishops of the Holy Land this week that called for a new effort to address root causes of the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
... we have to find a proper way for both [Israelis and Palestinians] to be here, close to one another.
“It is clear that after this war, dramatic as it was, we cannot go back to the previous situation and to keep postponing the issues at the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the cardinal said.
“We need of course new leadership. You cannot have a new vision or perspective with the same people. New leadership, I think, is important. And it's important to give to both Israelis and Palestinians dignity, security, and freedom in their own homeland. Israelis and Palestinians will remain here, and so we have to find a proper way for both of them to be here, close to one another.”
Finding hope
The cardinal also spoke of what has sustained him personally – and other Christians – through the difficult 15 months since the beginning of the war.
“You start, first of all, from prayer. You have to pray. Hope is a matter of faith. There is no hope without faith. Faith is the foundation of hope,” he said. “It's very important to keep alive your relationship with Jesus, and this should nurture you every day, in the readings of Scripture, the sacraments and the Eucharist.”
Amazingly, on his visits to the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which, like the entire area has been under siege for so long, he found people who refuse to give up.
“The parish in Gaza, which I know very well now – I know all of them one by one – is the least problematic parish in the diocese right now,” he said with a smile. “They lost everything: they lost houses, they lost jobs, they lost money, they lost their school. It’s horrible, their situation. They have every right to be angry and frustrated and so on.
“But I see children – I met them several times this year – they are full of life,” the cardinal continued. “They are not just doing nothing. They are all committed to doing something, first of all to help each other but also to help their neighbors, the Muslim families around them. They are very committed to the distribution of food, organizing things. So I see that they are not blaming and complaining; they are full of life because they are full of faith in God.”
