ASSISI (LifeSiteNews) — Speaking about his recent visit to Gaza, the cardinal of Jerusalem praised the aid workers there and quoted the Scriptural passage “the meek shall inherit the earth.”
“We live in dramatically complex times: wars, social imbalances, crises of international institutions, and violence that seems the only way to assert power,” lamented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem recently.
Recounting his visit to Gaza, following Israel’s strike on the Holy Family Catholic church there, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa praised the work of those he encountered during his visit. “I tell you that what I saw is indescribable,” he said of Gaza.
Total destruction, hunger, lack of healthcare, children without schools, hospitals destroyed. But in the midst of this hell, I saw the gentle men of today: people who risk their lives to help, children who say they were saved by Jesus despite their wounds, people who share the little they have. In Israel too, there are myths that help, and we must not generalize.
Since the outbreak of hostilities Pizzaballa has emerged as one of the leading campaigners for peace: not taking a political side, but highlighting the crises faced on both sides of the conflict, with a particular emphasis on people served by the church.
He has previously said there needs to be “new leadership with vision” in both the political and religious arenas before peace will take place, a likely indirect criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly rejected international resolutions passed at the United Nations to bring the conflict to a halt.
Speaking at Assisi, Pizzaballa echoed this theme:
Peace will not be born from bombs or government decisions, but from the ability to look each other in the eye, to recognize each other as brothers. Our task is not to let pain fill our hearts, but to keep hope alive through concrete gestures of humanity. This is what truly matters, and this is what will save us.
Interviewed by EWTN in late October, Pizzaballa downplayed human dreams of attaining peace, though noted he had “hope” it would occur. Instead, he recommended a “cease-fire, to stop any kind of violence,” but noted that “peace is an attitude, it is not just an agreement.”
The Italian cardinal is a member of the Franciscan order, and given the location of his speech, centered his comments around the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi. The actions of the saintly friar, said Pizzaballa, can be seen still today:
he left a profound mark because he lived the Gospel with radicality and meekness. ‘The meek shall inherit the earth’ is not a spiritual symbol: it means that it is the meek – the simple, the small – who truly leave a legacy.
St. Francis, said Jerusalem’s cardinal, “teaches us that following Christ without compromise is still possible – even if the world doesn’t understand, even if it is difficult.”
Pizzaballa has served in the Holy Land for over 20 years and was made cardinal in September 2023. A Franciscan, he served as Custos of the Holy Land from 2004 through April 2016. In June 2016 he was made apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, before becoming the Latin Patriarch in 2020 by appointment of Pope Francis.
Following the outbreak of hostilities in the region on October 7, 2023, he famously offered himself in exchange for Israeli hostages to halt the conflict – just days after being elevated to the cardinalate.
Pizzaballa’s many decades of mastery of the immensely tense political situation in the Middle East have won him respect from political and religious leaders in the region. By the time of the May conclave his profile had gained such international recognition that he was talked about as papabile.
The cardinal’s voice has now attained considerable strength, which he has regularly used to advocate for peace in the Middle East in various forums.
