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Pope Francis made a strong appeal for peace on Sunday calling modern warfare “a crime against humanity” that sows death among civilians and destroys cities.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, urged the faithful "to cherish the desire for encounter, to cultivate freedom in relation to all, to overcome ethnic, religious, and identity boundaries."
On Saturday, Oct. 7, Israel suddenly found itself in a state of war. A barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and attacks by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated cities near the border resulted in the death of over 1,000 people. Among them were 11 American citizens as well as citizens from many other countries.
Pope Francis has urged journalists in the Middle East to keep telling stories from the Holy Land.
For the first time in over 54 years, the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land were able to offer Mass on their property at the site of Christ’s baptism, located in the West Bank.
The Lenten Holy Land collection will be moved to September this year because of the suspension of public Masses in many places in the world due to the coronavirus, the Vatican stated Thursday.