VATICAN CITY (RNS) — As the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalates, causing death and havoc in the Middle East, Pope Francis invited Catholics and non-believers to join him in a day of fasting and prayer on Monday (Oct. 7).
The prayerful event took place on the one-year anniversary of the violent attack by Hamas terrorist forces against Israel, which resulted in 1,500 deaths and the kidnapping of numerous civilians. The aggression led Israel to begin a forceful counteroffensive to weed out the terrorist group, which caused the death of over 41,000 Palestinians, many of whom were children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israeli attacks targeted countries that offered support or refuge for Hamas members, including Iran and Lebanon.
“A year ago, the fuse of hatred was lit; it did not sputter, but exploded in a spiral of violence,” Pope Francis wrote in a letter addressed to Catholics living in the Middle East. “Anger is growing, along with the desire for revenge, while it seems that few people care about what is most needed and what is most desired: dialogue and peace,” the pope wrote.
Francis has repeatedly called for peace amid global conflicts and for a cease-fire in Gaza. Last November, he met with a delegation of Palestinians recounting their experiences of war and with the families of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. The pope also received the fathers of a Palestinian and an Israeli who both died because of the conflict and were campaigning for peace at the Vatican in March.
Pope Francis invited Catholics living in the Middle East to be “sprouts of hope” and underlined once again that “war is a defeat,” in his letter. He also voiced his closeness to not just Catholics, but also all men and women of any religious belief who “are suffering the insanity of war.”
“I am with you, the people of Gaza, long embattled and in dire straits. You are in my thoughts and prayers daily,” the pope wrote. In the letter he also expressed his closeness to those forced to flee their homes, those who lost their loved ones and every day fear rockets falling from the sky.
“I am with you, who have no voice, for despite all the talk of plans and strategies, there is little concern for those who suffer the devastation of war, which the powerful impose on others; yet they will be subject to the inflexible judgment of God,” Pope Francis said.
The Catholic Church is currently focused on a monthlong summit of bishops and Catholic representatives who are gathering at the Vatican to discuss how to make the institution more open, welcoming and inclusive to all its members. Last year, summit participants who were convening for a first gathering at the Vatican participated in a day of prayer as the war started in Israel. Today, as the conflict risks reaching new and devastating heights, Pope Francis invited participants at the summit to pray and fast for peace.
To inaugurate the day, Pope Francis held a recitation of the rosary in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on Sunday (Oct. 6). The pope asked Mary to “convert the hearts of those who fuel hatred, silence the roar of weapons that sow seeds of death, extinguish the violence that lurks in human hearts and inspire projects of peace in the actions of those who govern nations.”
The leader of the Vatican summit, Cardinal Mario Grech, invited participants to focus the discussions on “the desire for peace” and to pave the way for Catholics to become “operators of peace, at the service of humanity.”
Members of the synod were asked to offer charity for the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family in the Gaza Strip, with whom the pope speaks daily. The papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, asked that participants “be well prepared” to make the donations, which were collected in a bucket placed at the entrance of the synod hall.
Paolo Ruffini, head of the Vatican’s communication department, said in a press conference Monday that “through prayer we are united to all the places in the world that are at war, that’s why we prayed for peace at the opening session.”