Holy Land: Interreligious Dialogue Is a Failure

Cardinal Pizzaballa—the Italian Franciscan made a cardinal by Pope Francis in September 2023—had to postpone taking possession of his titular parish in Rome, Sant’Onofrio,—planned for last April 15—after an Iranian offensive against Israel on April 13. The ceremony took place on May 1, 2024, and was followed, the next day, by a lectio magistralis at the Pontifical Lateran University on the theme: Characteristics and Criteria for a Pastoral Ministry of Peace.

In his speech at the Pontifical Lateran University, the Cardinal stressed that this conflict revealed the “growing crisis of multilateral organizations such as the United Nations” but also the “weakness of the international [and local] political community.” He nevertheless insisted on the fact that the Church did not have the vocation to enter into the “political dynamics of negotiation,” seeing it as an “easy temptation” contrary to its mission in favor of peace.

But the Patriarch also lamented that the words of religious leaders are “largely missing from this war. [...] With few exceptions, we have not heard these last months, from religious authorities, speeches, reflections, or prayers different from those of any other political or social leader,” he emphasized.

The Cardinal calls for the cooperation of other Churches and religious communities, warning that if religions enter into the political struggle, as often happens in the Holy Land, “they become like oil thrown onto the fire.” He insisted on the value of interreligious dialogue, which, if it is authentic, creates a mentality of peace.

He then lamented that “it will never be the same again, at least between Christians, Muslims, and Jews,” giving some examples:  “The Jewish world did not feel supported by the Christians and expressed that clearly.

“The Christians in turn, divided as always on everything, incapable of a common word, are either divided on support for one camp or the other, or are uncertain and disoriented. The Muslims feel attacked, considered accomplices to the massacres committed on October 7... In short, after years of interreligious dialogue, we have found ourselves not understanding each other.”

The Patriarch, who has lived in the Holy Land since the 1990s and has for a long time been responsible for the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics, described this realization as a “great sorrow, but also a great lesson,” from a personal point of view.

“What is happening in the Holy Land is an unprecedented tragedy,” Cardinal Pizzaballa commented. “Apart from the gravity of the military and political context, which is deteriorating more and more, the religious and social context is also deteriorating,” he stressed.

“The depth of the division between the communities, the rare but important contexts of interreligious and civil coexistence are gradually disintegrating, with an attitude of distrust that increases each day. A distressing panorama.”

“Peace seems today to be a distant, utopian, and empty word, when it is not the object of endless instrumentalization,” the Patriarch acknowledged. To resolve this crisis, political as well as religious leaders must take into account “the enormous burden of wounds, sorrow, resentment, anger,” which result from the conflict, he insisted.

The Cardinal urged leaders to concentrate on forgiveness, truth, and justice. Before the conference, Cardinal Pizzaballa told the press that a ceasefire would represent “the first step toward other measures of a political nature, all of which, however, need to be built.”

And he explained that it would then be necessary to free the Israeli hostages on one hand and at least some Palestinian political prisoners on the other. The role of the Holy See “is not to participate in mediation, especially concerning such complex and problematic realities, but to create the conditions and contexts for that to happen,” he asserted.

Cardinal Pizzaballa finally evoked the fate of 462 refugees of the Latin Catholic parish of Gaza. He highlighted the closeness of Pope Francis, who calls the parish priest every day and sends aid.The prelate said that the military situation in Gaza was calmer than after the October 7 attacks, but still remained “precarious and difficult” due to the lack of water and food. “They are holding on, they are courageous,” he insisted.