(RNS) — When I was told I would be leading a delegation of Palestinians to meet His Holiness Pope Francis, I was in awe and nervous as to what I would say and how I would respond to his audience.

While I was born in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and I work at the Bethlehem Bible College, much of my family lives in Gaza. Since Oct. 7, I have lost one aunt to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. My uncle also died when his appendix ruptured and the hospitals in Gaza were unable to treat him. A second aunt injured in the Israeli shelling had to have surgery on her hip without anesthetics.

Together with other Palestinians who have been affected by the war, I was invited to the Vatican on Nov. 22 to personally meet with His Holiness. He wanted to hear directly from us what is happening in Gaza, and we did our best to convey to him our stories and the hopes of our people.

I will always cherish the visit to the Vatican and meeting the pope. What I was disappointed with, though, was the attitude of some at the Vatican, who tried to bully us to keep us from speaking about what we heard from His Holiness.

In preparing for this meeting, I felt obligated to make sure the Palestinian experience was shared truthfully and without any restrictions. We know the pope is one of the most influential figures in this world and many people listen to him. I wanted to be sure he heard the pain of our people and our cry for justice.

When the time came to go to Rome, it was not easy to leave my family behind during these difficult days. Palestinian families have become an easy target for Israelis and virtually everyone in the West Bank and Gaza is extremely concerned about their own families and their well-being.

A delegation of Palestinians attend a news conference at the Vatican after meeting with Pope Francis on Nov. 22, 2023. Pope Francis, before his Wednesday’s general audience, met with family members of Palestinians living in Gaza. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

We knew our mission to speak to Pope Francis was extremely important. Each member of our delegation, including two religious leaders, had a painful story. We felt the weight of millions of Palestinians, especially our brothers and sisters In Gaza who are enduring the impact of Israel’s revenge operation. Our families had nothing to do with Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, but we bear the brunt of a campaign that began with dehumanizing statements and is resulting in actual genocide.

On this special day, Pope Francis welcomed every single person in the delegation. We were all taken by surprise that the pope knew about the situation in Gaza in great detail.

He is aware there is no fuel, electricity, medical supplies, basic humanitarian needs and more. He has been in direct contact with the priest of the Latin Church in Gaza, who updates him with the news of the parish and Gaza in general. He stated clearly that violence can only bring violence and that the situation has gone beyond war. He said that terrorism cannot be countered with terrorism. 

During the half-hour audience we had with the pope, he heard how our innocent family members had been killed in Gaza and, for one delegate, in the West Bank.

Mohammad and his wife, Manar, from Gaza, who now live in Europe, told the pope they were in daily contact with their family. One day Mohammad said he lost contact. Two days later he received the worst news. His whole family — his mother, father, brother and sister, together with their children and grandchildren — had been killed by an Israeli missile strike.

When Mohammad told his story, I noticed the pope’s eyes teared. We emphasized that thousands of innocent children have been killed for no reason. When we said that, he responded that this was genocide. While the pope understood us when we spoke in English, he generally spoke to us through a translator in Italian, but when he said “genocide,” he said it in English. He repeated the word “genocide” in his concluding remarks. 

We were moved by the pope’s words. He was courageous enough to correctly describe what we know is happening in Gaza. We felt his genuine desire for peace, rather than the shedding of innocent blood.

We took photos with Pope Francis and left, relieved that our message was heard loud and clear.

But minutes later, we were surprised by an unexpected development.

During the press conference that was organized afterward, we were told what we had heard in our ears was not what the pope had said. The Vatican spokesman insisted His Holiness never used the term “genocide.” None of us have hearing problems and we know what we heard.

Our frustration is not so much that the Vatican spokesman wanted to silence us, but that Israel has not paid attention to the repeated calls by the pope (which were not denied by his staff) for an immediate cease-fire.

No one has been able to stop the bombing of Gaza and put an end to the enormous civilian deaths. A catastrophe is taking place, and international leaders, including the churchgoing Catholic president of the United States, have been unwilling to heed the calls for an end to this carnage.

(Shireen Hilal is a Palestinian Christian resident of Bethlehem and the director of Bethlehem Bible College community and outreach. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)