CNA Staff, Nov 18, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis’ call for an investigation into claims that a genocide may be happening in Gaza has garnered criticism.
In a passage of a new book published ahead of the 2025 Jubilee Year and released on Sunday, Pope Francis noted that according to some experts, “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide” and called for a careful investigation, according to Vatican News.
The book by Hernán Reyes Alcaide is titled “Hope Never Disappoints: Pilgrims Toward a Better World” and was written for the occasion of the 2025 Jubilee, which is scheduled to begin Christmas Eve. It includes interviews with Pope Francis and will be released Nov. 19 in Italy, Spain, and Latin America by Edizioni Piemme Publishers. It will be published in other languages at a later date.
Pope Francis said in the book that, “according to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”
“In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” Pope Francis continued.
Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See pushed back against the claim.
Yaron Sideman responded to the pope’s comments on X, highlighting the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israeli citizens by Hamas and pointing to Israel’s right to self-defense.
“There was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, and since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens,” Sideman stated. “Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish state.”
In a Nov. 18 press release, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a global coalition combating antisemitism, also criticized the pope’s remarks, calling them “an eighth front” of the war against Israel.
“The State of Israel is currently facing a war of intended annihilation on seven fronts, and these remarks look like a possible opening of an eighth front, from of all places, the Vatican, which can also lead to the spilling of Jewish blood around the world,” said Sacha Roytman, CEO of CAM. “For a pope who appears to prize even-handedness and peace, we see that the Jewish state once again appears to be the exception.”
In December 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice for alleged violations against the Genocide Convention, according to Reuters. The court has yet to rule on the charges.
A United Nations Special Committee on Nov. 14 released a report claiming that “Israel’s warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there.”
“Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life — food, water, and fuel,” the committee stated. “These statements along with the systematic and unlawful interference of humanitarian aid make clear Israel’s intent to instrumentalize lifesaving supplies for political and military gains.”
Pope Francis on Nov. 14 met with several hostages recently freed from months of captivity in Gaza. Sixteen people attended the meeting last Thursday. One attendee, a young boy, gave the pope a football jersey with the name “Tal Shoham,” the name of a family member who was taken hostage along with his wife, children, mother-in-law, and other relatives, Vatican News reported.
On Oct. 7, 2023, 1,200 people died after Islamic terrorists attacked Israel, taking 252 people hostage. According to Reuters, Palestinian health authorities say more than 41,500 people have been killed by Israel in Gaza.
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The comments from Pope Francis regarding Israel contrast with his sympathy for Russia over the 3 years of horror it has inflicted on Ukraine. The usual double standards from Pope Francis, suck up to the Russians and blame the Jews.
And before anyone makes a sarcastic anti Jewish reply I am a Catholic though one who is thoroughly disgusted with this Pope
You won’t find me making a sarcastic anti-Jewish remark but I expect you will receive one eventually. It never seems to fail.
He is a man with little rational moral sense, so it is never difficult for him to find a pretext to pretend he has a moral sense and pontificate on a world stage, especially when he speaks about matters he knows nothing about but receives attention like he is an oracle of wisdom.
If the Pope were really concerned with genocide, he’d leave no stone unturned in order to change the minds and hearts of: first, his fellow Catholics and then, second the rest of humanity against the evil of abortion. He could mandate that EVERY Catholic parish worldwide advertise that it will provide assistance to ANY woman considering aborting her unborn baby. So, what are we to think about the Pope’s concerns about genocide in Gaza?
If we examine the immediate conditions on the ground it can be argued genocide. However, if we closely examine the chain of events we can justly argue a nation’s right to self preservation. Then there are the biblical, historical features that pose a rationale for a God given privilege of Israeli territorial rights in the contested area.
Protestants, evangelicals particularly argue the biblical case for Israel’s actions. Catholicism, in view of the rejection of the Messiah, the loss of the God given privilege [perceived in the tearing of the sanctuary veil] do not appreciate an Israeli right to occupied territories, nevertheless acknowledge a right for the existence of the state of Israel placing the papacy and Vatican in a complex often ambiguous position. Looming over the complexity is the Holocaust and its participation by German [plus other European] Catholic, Protestant responsibility.
Adding to the deadly drama is the Apostle’s teaching that the chosen people will not be entirely abandoned by God, that in the end a remnant of Judaism will recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah. Many Protestants, as well as some Catholics anticipate with the prospective rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple that Jesus of Nazareth will return there, while many others believe that it will be the Antichrist who will appear in Jerusalem and claim to be the Messiah. Hasidim, that is, Hasidic Jews strongly expect the Messiah to appear and are nevertheless a powerful influence within the basically secular Jewish state. This seems to have influenced Catholic churchmen during previous pontificates. Whether that thought influences Pope Francis is questionable considering his secular leanings in world affairs.
Referencing sacred scripture 2 Thessalonians 2 the Apostle speaks of the Antichrist as someone who intends to portray the Messiah. “This is the Enemy, the one who claims to be so much more than all that men call god … that he enthrones himself in God’s sanctuary and claims that he is God” (Jerusalem Bible). Whereas Saint Jerome’s vulgate translation from the Gk has, “ita ut in templo Dei sedeat ostendens se tamquam sit Deus”. Which reads, he ‘presents’ himself as if he is God. As such allowing for a wider interpretation such as one who ‘acts’ by exercise of his power as if he were God. However we may speculate on the textual interpretation Paul leaves us with the further question of which temple? Jerusalem or Rome?
Insofar as the Israel issue and genocide it would serve justice to address the complexity in Gaza strictly as a matter of justice according to the conditions on the ground excluding all other speculative considerations. As such Francis’ response has rectitude and is in line with responses of previous pontificates.
Glad he is raising this issue–better late than never.
The official narrative of the events of Oct. 7 (its origins, mass rapes, beheadings, number killed and by whom) is dubious.
What is not dubious are the crimes of the Israeli state against the Palestinian people.
Even if the official narrative about Oct. 7 is true, this does not justify mass murder. This should be obvious to any person with a conscience.
It is “dubious” only in the minds of those willingly propagandized to believe it is “dubious.”
The live stream mass murder continues. See below.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/11/19/737535/70,000-Palestinians-at-risk-of-starvation-in-north-Gaza