One year after Hamas’ largest terrorist attack on Israeli soil, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with the victims of continued violence in the Middle East.
“There is one thing that I wish to say to you, from the bottom of my heart, dear brothers and sisters, but also to the men and women of every confession and religion who in the Middle East are suffering from the insanity of war: I am close to you, I am with you,” wrote the pope in a letter dated October 7.
This date marks one year since Hamas killed 1,189 people, including 815 civilians, after storming the security fence separating Gaza and Israel.
7,500 people were also wounded and 251 were taken hostage.
The pope lamented the event, describing it as the fuse that “exploded in a spiral of violence.”
He extended his gratitude to the people of the Middle East for their willingness to remain in a war- stricken land and continue to pray and love.
“You are a seed loved by God. Just as a seed, apparently pressed down by the earth that covers it, is always able to find its way upwards, towards the light, to bear fruit and give life, do not let yourselves be engulfed by the darkness that surrounds you,” he said.
“Planted in your sacred lands, become sprouts of hope, because the light of faith leads you to testify to love amid words of hatred, to encounter amid growing confrontation, to unity amid increasing hostility, he also said.
Moreover, the Holy Father echoed his call for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Middle East during his Angelus on Sunday.
“I call on the international community to put an end to the spiral of vengeance and to stop any more attacks, like the one carried out by Iran a few days ago, which could plunge the region into an even bigger war,” he said.
"All nations have the right to exist in peace and security, and their territories must not be attacked or invaded,” he also said.
Furthermore, Pope Francis on Sunday led the recitation of the Holy Rosary for peace at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
He was joined by participants of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, which will take place in the Vatican this October.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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