Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed cautious hope for peace in Gaza during a visit to metro Detroit. Pizzaballa urged people in the region to combat hatred and adopt different ways of thinking about one another. The Cardinal cautioned against confusing hope with immediate political solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stating such solutions will not arrive soon. He stressed that hope must be rooted in faith and a desire for realization, requiring both Israelis and Palestinians to act and think differently. Pizzaballa's visit included celebrating Mass with the Chaldean community in West Bloomfield, Michigan, alongside local bishops.
9 days ago
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, began a four-day pastoral visit to metro Detroit on December 4, 2025, focusing on hope for Holy Land Christians amid ongoing conflict.1 He celebrated Mass with the Chaldean community at St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church in West Bloomfield, joined by Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger and Chaldean Bishop Francis Y. Kalabat.1 Throughout the visit, Pizzaballa delivered a message of cautious optimism, urging Israelis and Palestinians to combat hatred and "think differently" about each other.1
At a December 5 press conference, Weisenburger praised Pizzaballa's efforts for a "just and lasting peace" in Gaza.1 The cardinal cautioned against confusing hope with quick political fixes, noting that solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are not imminent.1 He emphasized that hope must root in faith, desire, and collective action by individuals when institutions fail.1
Pizzaballa described Gaza's dire conditions following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, with most infrastructure—homes, hospitals, and schools—reduced to rubble.1 Families now live in tents as winter nears, facing food scarcity despite some aid entering the territory.1 During a post-ceasefire visit in fall 2025, he delivered chicken to displaced Christians at the Holy Family parish, their first meat in nine months.1
The October 9, 2025, ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has shifted Gazans from "survival mode" to questions about rebuilding, governance, and children's futures.1 Christians, numbering about 500 or 1% of Gaza's population, continue to emigrate, raising concerns for the region's Christian future.1 Gaza has only one Catholic parish, now sheltering around 500 displaced people.1
Despite hardships, sacramental life persists at Holy Family parish, including daily Masses, Vespers, Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, First Communions, and even a wedding.1 This spiritual continuity fosters solidarity among sheltering families and serves as a key aid.1 Pizzaballa noted that conversations with Gazan Christians reveal no anger, even amid violence; one hospital director lamented Christians' inability to hate during bombings.1
In the broader Holy Land, Christians comprise about 2% of populations in Israel (190,000) and the West Bank (45,000).1 Pizzaballa compared Gaza's suffering to Isaiah's vision of restoration and the past persecution of Chaldeans in Iraq by ISIS.1 He stressed the Church's peace-building mission while condemning the Hamas attack as unacceptable and Israel's retaliation as disproportionately difficult.1
Pizzaballa insisted the situation won't improve without recognizing Palestinians' dignity and right to self-determination.1 He clarified, "We are not against Israel," but called for mutual change in thinking and acting.1 Weisenburger highlighted the war's human cost, estimating 70,000 deaths, and urged Americans to accept responsibility for rebuilding, as many bombs originated from the U.S.1
Local support in Detroit has been strong, with pledges of about $500,000 for Holy Land needs.1 Weisenburger noted that such actions nurture hope, avoiding oversimplification into sound bites.1 The visit included stops at St. Bonaventure Monastery, prayer at Blessed Solanus Casey's tomb, and a meeting with seminarians at Sacred Heart Seminary.1 Pizzaballa received relics of Blessed Solanus and four Chaldean martyrs.1
Holy Land Christians face economic fallout from the war, especially in Bethlehem, where tourism has collapsed, devastating 70-80% of Christian revenue.1 Author Steve Ray plans to lead a pilgrimage of over 50 from December 28, 2025, to January 6, 2026, dismissing safety fears amplified by social media.1 No pilgrims have been harmed historically, and he schedules four more trips in 2026, including one for Ave Maria University students.1
The visit concluded with a December 5 fundraising dinner at St. John’s Resort, attended by about 500, with proceeds fully donated to charity by the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation.1 Pizzaballa was set to celebrate Mass at the Shrine of the Little Flower, honoring St. Therese de Lisieux's relics.1
Catholic hope for peace in Israel‑Palestine rooted in faith
The Catholic Church has long held a profound hope for peace in the Israel-Palestine region, viewing it not merely as a political aspiration but as a divine imperative rooted in faith, justice, and the Gospel call to reconciliation. This hope draws from the sacred history of the Holy Land, where Christ walked and redeemed humanity, and emphasizes prayer, dialogue, and respect for the dignity of all peoples—Israelis and Palestinians alike—as children of God. Papal teachings consistently urge an end to violence, protection of holy sites, and a just resolution, often invoking the two-state solution as a path to mutual security and freedom. Amid ongoing conflicts, this faith-based optimism persists, calling believers to active peacemaking through humility, solidarity, and trust in God's providence.
From the mid-20th century onward, the Church has responded to the turmoil in Palestine with urgent calls for peace, grounded in the belief that true resolution must honor religious traditions and human rights. In 1948, as war ravaged the region, Pope Pius XII expressed deep sorrow over the destruction threatening the Holy Places, condemning violence and insisting that peace could only emerge from truth, justice, and respect for acquired rights, especially in religious matters. He maintained apostolic impartiality while striving for justice and the safeguarding of sacred sites, underscoring the Church's duty to transcend human conflicts. This era saw Pius XII not only decry the "trampling" of the land by troops and bombings but also mobilize global prayer under the Virgin Mary's auspices to restore concord. He highlighted the insufficiency of human efforts alone, turning to supplication as the foundation for any lasting settlement.
Practically, the Pope extended aid to war victims in Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt, encouraging Catholic initiatives worldwide to support the suffering. These actions reflected a faith-driven conviction that charity and prayer could mitigate devastation, even as he lamented the potential ruin of Christ's sepulcher and other holy landmarks. Such interventions rooted hope in the Christian belief that God, who brought peace through the Incarnation in this very land, could inspire reconciliation among its inhabitants.
Successive popes have built on this legacy, adapting it to evolving crises while reaffirming faith as the bedrock of hope. Pope John Paul II, during his 2000 Jubilee pilgrimage, praised efforts toward peace as essential for the entire region, urging Christians and Jews to dismantle prejudices and present the authentic face of their faiths. He emphasized that security for one people must respect the rights of others, condemning terrorism as a crime against humanity while insisting that retaliation cannot yield lasting peace—only dialogue can. In addressing Israel's ambassador in 2003, John Paul II advocated for two sovereign states living side by side in mutual respect, calling for negotiations on refugees, settlements, Jerusalem's status, and borders without unilateral decisions. This vision, he argued, fosters trust and cooperation, with failures in talks demanding renewed commitment to remove obstacles.
Pope Francis echoed this in his 2023 Christmas message, grieving the October 7 attack and its aftermath, while pleading for hostage releases, an end to military operations, and humanitarian access in Gaza. He rejected violence and hatred, urging sincere dialogue for the Palestinian question, sustained by political will and international support. In 2024, Francis reiterated shock at the cycle of extremism and suffering, framing peacemaking as a shared responsibility: "Blessed are the peacemakers." His 2014 Holy Land pilgrimage further invited Israeli and Palestinian leaders to pray together at the Vatican, portraying peace as God's gift crafted daily through humility and fraternity. He commended Jordan's refugee hospitality and called for easing Middle East tensions, counting on global prayers for the region's children.
Under Pope Leo XIV, this hopeful stance continues amid recent escalations. In a 2025 press conference en route to Beirut, he affirmed the Holy See's support for a two-state solution as the only viable path to resolve the conflict, positioning the Vatican as a mediating friend to both Israel and Palestine. Discussing Gaza with Turkish President Erdoğan, Leo XIV stressed Türkiye's role in fostering justice for all. Later, in a December 2025 flight back to Rome, he addressed halting aggressions against Lebanon, leveraging connections with global leaders to pursue sustainable regional peace. His May 2025 Jubilee catechesis renewed appeals for aid in Gaza and an end to hostilities, highlighting the toll on the vulnerable as a call to conscience.
John Paul II's 2002 audience also welcomed interfaith leaders from the Holy Land, mourning violence in Israel and Palestinian territories while committing the Church to just peace through reconciliation and trust-building. These voices collectively root hope in the Abrahamic faiths' shared monotheism, urging religious leaders to proclaim and enact peace.
At its core, Catholic hope for Israel-Palestine peace is anchored in Scripture and tradition, seeing the Holy Land as the locus of salvation history—from Abraham's covenant to Christ's Passion. Popes invoke this to frame conflict not as inevitable but as a betrayal of God's plan for harmony among Isaac's and Ishmael's descendants. John Paul II posed a bold question in 1982: Can these two peoples, accepting each other's existence, find dialogue leading to equitable peace, dignity, and tolerance? He answered with faith-fueled optimism, enjoining abandonment of war and violence for solidarity from friendly nations.
This hope manifests in the Church's role as a prophetic voice, as Francis noted in 1994, supporting accords like the Fundamental Agreement with Israel to ensure religious freedom and aid the peace process. Prayer remains central: Pius XII's invocations, John Paul II's joint prayers, and Leo XIV's appeals all trust in the Holy Spirit to anoint hearts for reconciliation. Christians in the region are called to be "craftsmen of peace," embodying fraternity amid diversity. Even in despair over Gaza's humanitarian crisis or Jerusalem's contested status, faith insists on perseverance: dialogue's path, though arduous, leads to God's peace "with all its demands."
Controversies, such as unilateral actions or stalled talks, are addressed with nuance—popes condemn extremism on all sides while prioritizing justice for Palestinians and security for Israelis, noting that recent sources like Leo XIV's reinforce the two-state framework as precedential. Where sources converge, they affirm that peace eludes human strength alone, requiring divine grace.
Catholic hope for peace in Israel-Palestine endures as a luminous thread in papal teaching, weaving biblical promise with urgent pleas for justice, aid, and two-state coexistence. Rooted in faith's conviction that God desires shalom for all, it transforms sorrow into supplication and conflict into opportunity for encounter. Believers are invited to pray, advocate, and support humanitarian efforts, trusting that through such witness, the Holy Land may yet echo the angels' song: peace on earth to people of goodwill.