(begin) October 27, 2023, WASHINGTON – In response to the escalating Israel-Hamas war, Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, renewed his call for peace.
“The war in the Holy Land is playing out in real time before us with its mounting casualties, the growing humanitarian disaster, and the potential for violent regional and international escalation. The October 7 terrorist attacks of Hamas which initiated this war must be condemned. We renew the call for the release of hostages and protection of civilian populations. At the same time, we affirm continued efforts to allow humanitarian access, including corridors for those seeking safety, and urge Congress to provide support for relief efforts. As Pope Francis reminds the world, ‘War is always a defeat; it is a destruction of human fraternity.’
“We continue to pray for the victims caught in this cycle of violence as well as the regional and international actors who are being drawn into the conflict. We must not grow weary of offering our prayers and support for peace and justice for all concerned. A lasting solution respecting the rights, needs, and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians remains essential to these ends. “With passions enflamed in our own communities, online, and around the world, we must guard against any tendency to sow hatred against other people or faiths. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, ‘The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion.’
“As Christians, we look to Our Lord and unite our prayers to those of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who in his recent letter to his flock, recalls the words of Christ, ‘In the world you will have tribulations, but take courage, I have conquered the world.’ (John 16:33)” (end)
What is the definition of “holy?” It means: “dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred.” What is “unholy?” It means sinful or wicked. It also means awful or dreadful. What we are witnessing in Israel, Gaza, and the entire region is unholy. If the violence, killing, and destruction continues, we should rename the Holy Land as the Unholy Land.
Bishop Malloy’s statement reads in part: “A lasting solution respecting the rights, needs, and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians remains essential to these ends. ‘With passions enflamed in our own communities, online, and around the world, we must guard against any tendency to sow hatred against other people or faiths.” Tragically, the guard rails are off. The unholy has been unleashed. This Jewish-Palestinian war has done far more than sow hatred. It has unleashed the beast we call Evil or more aptly and graphically referred to as the Devil.
Christ is believed to have said: “In the world you will have tribulations, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” We Christians believe he did, but the Jews and Muslims of Israel and Palestine would beg to differ as unfettered violence, killing of innocents, and wholesale destruction of communities and lives continue to ramp up with no end in sight. It has become a sinful and wicked Unholy Land.
Deacon David Pierce
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