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CV NEWS FEED // Echoing the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Holy Father, the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has called for “fervent prayer for an end to the violence in the Holy Land” on October 7.
In light of the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel that killed 1,200 (mostly civilian) Israelis, which Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio said was “the deadliest for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” both Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Pope Francis have asked that October 7 be a day of prayer, fasting, and penance.
In an October 2 letter, Archbishop Broglio asked bishops to invite their faithful to join the Holy Father and Christians in the Holy Land “in fervent prayer for an end to the violence in the Holy Land, for the safe and prompt return of all hostages, and for the conversion of hearts so that hatred may be overcome, opening a pathway to reconciliation and peace.”
Archbishop Broglio lamented the deadly war between Israel and Gaza and the increase in violence against Jews and Muslims around the world, including in the United States.
“The terrible loss of life in Israel and in Gaza, as well as the spike in crimes of hate here in the U.S. and elsewhere, is a source of great sorrow to us as Catholics. Compassion is not a zero-sum game,” Archbishop Broglio stated.
“We hear the cries of lament of all our brothers and sisters — Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Muslims and Christians — all of whom have been traumatized by these events. We join in mourning all whose lives have been cut short. We share the earnest desire for lasting peace,” he continued.
The Archbishop also gave reason to hope: “As you know, our Catholic faith teaches us to hope even amidst the darkest of circumstances, for Christ is risen from the dead. Out of death God brings forth a new creation.”
He continued, “Let us seek ways to express our solidarity with our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters. Let us also commit ourselves to combat all forms of hatred directed towards Jews and Muslims, and to work for a lasting peace in the land of the Lord Jesus’ birth.”
