Pope Francis has written a letter to the Jewish community in Israel, expressing deep concern over the ongoing violence and conflict in the Holy Land.
He condemned anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism, emphasizing the need to reject all forms of hatred.
The Pope extended his empathy to both Israelis and Palestinians, urging for peace and expressing solidarity with those affected by the conflict.
“The path that the Church has walked with you, the ancient people of the covenant, rejects every form of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, unequivocally condemning manifestations of hatred towards Jews and Judaism as a sin against God,” he said.
He called for a collective effort to break the cycle of violence and promote peace, emphasizing the importance of friendship, cooperation, and the pursuit of justice.
Catholics are “very concerned about the terrible increase in attacks against Jews around the world,” he added, having “hoped that ‘never again’ would be a refrain heard by the new generations.”
“I pray that the desire for peace may prevail in all.”
I need “to assure you of my closeness and affection,” he wrote. “I embrace each of you, and especially those who are consumed by anguish, pain, fear and even anger.”
The Pope highlighted the joint responsibility of Jews and Catholics in working towards a future of light, friendship, and cooperation, particularly in the Holy Land.
“Together with you, we mourn the dead, the wounded, the traumatized, begging God the Father to intervene and put an end to war and hatred, to these incessant cycles that endanger the entire world,” he said.
“We pray for the return of the hostages, rejoicing because of those who have already returned home, and praying that all the others will soon join them,” he added.
“We have heard a summons, and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the word ‘brother,’” he said.
Jews and Catholics are witnesses to “a future horizon where light replaces darkness, in which friendship replaces hatred, in which cooperation replaces war,” he said.
“And we must act, starting first and foremost from the Holy Land, where together we want to work for peace and justice, doing everything possible to create relationships capable of opening new horizons of light for everyone, Israelis and Palestinians.”
Jews and Catholics must unite on a “path of friendship, solidarity and cooperation in seeking ways to repair a destroyed world,” he wrote, “working together in every part of the world, and especially in the Holy Land, to recover the ability to see in the face of every person the image of God, in which we were created.”
Pope Francis: ‘Every Religion Wants Peace’ https://t.co/kq5xgGk9a4 pic.twitter.com/qTMYda04n8
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 27, 2016
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