Tag: Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Since the October ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war, people in Palestine are living in abject ruin, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said at a news conference in Plymouth, a western suburb of Detroit.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem welcomed "with joy" the announcement of an initial agreement between Hamas and Israel in an 9 October statement, but also stressed the "absolute urgency" for the "immediate" and "unconditional" entry of humanitarian relief and sufficient aid into Gaza.

In a heartfelt message at the inauguration of the Jubilee Year in the Holy Land 29 December at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa emphasised that the indulgence granted during the Holy Year is not a transaction, but a spiritual opportunity to seek forgiveness and reflect on personal transformation.

Christmas this season in the Holy Land will be celebratory despite ongoing bloodshed and war, the Holy Land's patriarchs said. And while visiting Germany, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, encouraged pilgrims to return to the birthplace of Jesus.

Seven October will mark a year since the brutal Hamas attack on Israeli communities and the no less brutal Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that immediately followed.