How are Christians in Palestine coping in their daily life? And what makes them stay in the Holy Land through all the conflict?
Aid blocked in Gaza deepens crisis for Christians and Palestinians, as Church warns of rising hardship, halted school reopening, and growing emigration fears.
Pope Leo reiterated his plea for dialogue and full respect for international law.
Vatican diplomacy stresses multilateralism and renewed negotiations. Vatican is not like others states, says Cardinal.
A group of bishops recently made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where they met with local Christians and heard their struggles.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa of Jerusalem encouraged Catholics to resume making pilgrimages to the Holy Land, which is "absolutely safe."
Caritas Jerusalem, the Middle East branch of the Catholic aid agency Caritas Internationalis, was recently banned from Gaza by the Israeli government.
Roughly 80% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, the Cardinal said. Many structures still standing are unsafe or barely habitable.
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem lit up a Christmas tree on Saturday for the first time in three years, since the start of the Gaza War.
"Türkiye has an important role that it could play in all of this," says Pope Leo.
According to the cardinal, real progress will demand far more than declarations. Hamas has no intention of laying down arms, and Israel shows little readiness for a full withdrawal.
Holy See: There is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-State solution
For the first time since the war began, the courtyard of Holy Family Parish in Gaza was quiet on Sunday — no bombs, no sirens, only prayer.
With his parish still sheltering hundreds, and with a Pope on the phone encouraging them to stand firm, Fr. Romanelli’s witness has become a symbol of endurance.
If, as Cardinal Pizzaballa insists, the path to violence is smoothed by speech that degrades, then a path out of conflict will run through speech that honors.
After the papal audience, Herzog was due to meet Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and tour the Vatican Archives and Library.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem released a statement saying the Israeli government's plan to take over Gaza City is unjustified.
