PARISH PRIEST IN GAZA: ‘WE HAVE ENDURED RELENTLESS CALVARY FOR MONTHS’

Other Vatican Gaza stories:

March 18: Israeli troops target Gaza’s main hospital – Vatican News

March 16: Save the Children decries ‘relentless mental harm’ suffered by Gaza children – Vatican News

October 17, 2023: Pope Francis calls Catholic faithful of parish in Gaza – Vatican News

PARISH PRIEST IN GAZA: ‘WE HAVE ENDURED RELENTLESS CALVARY FOR MONTHS’

Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza, speaks of the “extremely grave” situation in the Gaza Strip, likening the situation of Christians in the Strip to Christ on Calvary.

By Sr. Francine-Marie Cooper

“The situation continues to be extremely grave and worsens by the hour. Our Christians have faith and hope in the Essential, in Jesus Christ,” according to Fr. Gabriel Romanelli.

“They have been enduring relentless Calvary for months,” he adds.

PHOTO:  Displaced Palestinian fleeing from the vicinity of Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital arrive at a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip  (AFP or licensors)

The parish priest of the only Catholic parish in Gaza explains how the rest of the population feels greatly disheartened, as there are no visible signs of peace or an end to violence and death.

In an interview with SIR, an Italian Catholic news agency, Fr. Romanelli laments the terrible toll of the war, saying, “This conflict has already resulted in more than 32,000 deaths, 12,000 of which are children.”

He himself has been stuck in Jerusalem since the war broke out on October 7, yet he constantly stays in touch with his parishioners in every possible way.

The members of the parish have been taking refuge for months in the parish compound along with other displaced Christians, totalling about 600, who have lost everything in the bombings.

A scene of desperation

Fr. Romanelli spoke of reports from inside Gaza which he has received from his parochial vicar, Fr. Youssef Asaad, who remains in the parish.

“You cannot imagine the pain we are experiencing and the desperation of the people,” Fr. Asaad said.

He described the scene in the area surrounding the parish in Gaza City, with mountains of rubble, garbage, and burst sewers. The rain that continues to fall is a blessing on the one hand, but worsens the hygienic conditions as it causes high humidity, intensifying the smell of decomposed bodies that are still under the rubble.

“Despite everything,” adds Fr. Romanelli, “they pray for peace every day and offer their suffering and hardships for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.”

Referring to his parish in Gaza, the parish priest reported that the kitchen had reopened, yet it is still very dangerous for people to venture out.

“Humanitarian aid,” he explains, “airdropped by the USA and other international countries, as well as those arriving by sea, haven’t reached everyone. They haven’t reached the parish. However, some parishioners managed to obtain flour, and the oven has resumed producing bread. This is a great blessing for our displaced people. The Latin Patriarchate also provides assistance. Our hope is that we can return to cooking twice a week.”

Threat of famine

Once again, UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, has intervened on the dire humanitarian situation.

The regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khodr, says the lack of action by the world is shocking, while children succumb to a slow death.

Oxfam, a British aid agency, has also sounded the alarm, speaking of “catastrophic levels of hunger in Gaza.”

According to Paolo Pezzati, spokesperson for Oxfam Italy’s humanitarian crises: “Never before have we witnessed such a grave situation unfolding in such a short time. In a few days, the population in the north of Gaza will be facing a real famine, a situation that will also arise in the south very soon without a ceasefire and an adequate humanitarian response.”

POPE THANKS CARDINAL PIZZABALLA FOR CLOSENESS TO PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM WAR – HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE ON MEETING OF C9 CARDINALS

POPE THANKS CARDINAL PIZZABALLA FOR CLOSENESS TO PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM WAR

In a telephone call to Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pope Francis expresses his continued concern for the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza and the hundreds of Christians sheltering there. Speaking by phone, he thanked the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem for the closeness he has shown to the people since the beginning of the war between Hamas and Israel.

In the phone call, the Pope expressed his constant care for the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza.

The Holy Father has been in contact with the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, and the associate pastor, Father Youssef Assad, almost daily to inquire about the situation.

The Holy Family Parish, served by priests of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, is the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip. TO CONTINUE: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-calls-patriarch-of-jerusalem.html

HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE ON MEETING OF C9 CARDINALS

The meeting with Pope Francis and the C9 cardinals took place on February 5th, 6th and the afternoon of the 7th at the Casa Santa Marta.

Participating with the Pope were the cardinals who are members of the C9 Council of Cardinals as well as the council Secretary. After the reflection on the morning of the 5th on the role of women in the Church, with contributions from Sister Linda Pocher, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians and professor of Christology and Mariology at the Pontifical University Faculty of Educational Sciences Auxilium of Rome; of Giuliva Di Berardino, a consecrated virgin of the Diocese of Verona, teacher and head of spirituality courses and spiritual exercises; and the Rev. Dr. Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of the Church of England and Under-Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the discussion continued in the afternoon on the ongoing synodal paths, particularly that of the universal Church.

February 6th was dedicated to the theme of evangelization, accompanied by reports of the Pro-Prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, H.E. Abp. Salvatore Fisichella and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.

The afternoon of the 7th provided an opportunity to delve further into the topics covered during the course of the session, in the presence of the Holy Father.

The next C9 Council session will be held in April 2024.

POPE FRANCIS CALLS CATHOLIC FAITHFUL IN GAZA PARISH – DISCORDANT VOICES INSIDE THE SYNOD

I found the piece (posted below) in La Croix International a fascinating look at the ongoing synod, principally because what Loup writes about dovetails with a lot of the stories I’ve heard come out of the synod. I’ve been in Rome so long that I have covered 9 of the 11 synods John Paul II called as well as those of his two successors.

I spoke about those years and the differences with recent synods on a podcast with Robert Royal: https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2023/10/16/podcast-vatican-info-then-and-now-with-joan-lewis/

POPE FRANCIS CALLS CATHOLIC FAITHFUL IN GAZA PARISH

Pope Francis makes a phone call to the parishioners of the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza, with a religious sister expressing gratitude for his encouragement to the suffering community.
By Paolo Ondarza & Devin Watkins

“Pope Francis assured us that we are in his prayers and that he knows the suffering we are enduring.”

Sister Nabila Saleh of the Rosary Sisters of Jerusalem shared that summary of a phone call received from Pope Francis on Monday night.

The religious sister serves in the Holy Family Parish, the only Latin rite parish in Gaza.

In an interview with Vatican News, Sister Saleh said the Pope called the parish priest, Fr. Yusuf, who then handed her the phone “so I could speak directly with the Pope since [the priest] does not speak Italian very well.”

Pope’s concern for people of Gaza
She said Pope Francis wanted to know how many people are sheltering in the parish’s facilities.

“There are about 500 people, including the sick, families, children, the disabled, people who have lost their homes and belongings,” she said. “It was a great blessing to be able to speak with him. He gave us courage and support in prayer.”

Sr. Saleh asked the Pope to make an appeal for peace and told him that Catholics in Gaza are offering their sufferings “for an end to the war, for peace, for the needs of the Church, and for the ongoing Synod.”

“Our parishioners were very pleased,” she said. “They know that the Pope is working for peace and for the good of the Christian community in Gaza.”

Mutual support in times of trial
Asked about the situation in Gaza, Sr. Saleh said people are trying to support each other as much as possible in their difficulties and are praying earnestly for peace.

“Every day we have two Masses,” she said. “We also always pray the Rosary with the children and their families.”

On Sunday evening, the parish priest celebrated Mass and baptized a child into the Christian faith.

“The mother was afraid that something bad might happen and asked to baptize her son,” she said. “It was a moment of spiritual resurrection and rebirth for all of us.”

Appeal for peace and justice
Sr. Saleh wrapped up the interview with an appeal for peace and justice in Palestine.

“We want peace because war does no one any good. We want this brutal war to end,” she said. “Many people have lost their loved ones, their homes, and everything they have. We ask for justice: justice and peace. The Palestinian people also have the right to live. We ask not to punish the population because of a fanatic group. And then we ask that you pray for us.”

DISCORDANT VOICES INSIDE THE SYNOD

(From La Croix international – Loup Besmond de Senneville)
Not everyone who is participating in the Synod on synodality is pleased about the method being employed to guide the discussions.

The atmosphere of general enthusiasm that seems to surround the Synod assembly on the future of the Church now underway at the Vatican should not be taken at face value.

Over the past few days, a number of dissenting voices have been raised during the October 4-29 gathering that has brought together 365 synod fathers and mothers, including Pope Francis.

During the sessions – which are closed to the media and outsiders – some of the participants have clearly made known their doubts about the method being used. They have raised their concerns during the “free interventions” in the plenary meetings, in the small-group discussions at the round tables spread throughout in the Paul VI Audience Hall, and even more so during the coffee breaks.

“The level has dropped a lot”

This is particularly true of some of the old Synod hands, who are quick to point out that the main problem is that theology is being neglected during the discussions. The “conversation in the spirit” used during group work, the method introduced by the organizers, requires Synod members to speak about their personal experience, rather than to address major concepts – in short, it’s experience over ideas.

“The level has dropped a lot,” complained one Synod father, who is not taking it lying down. He said he feels “restricted”, even “infantilized”.

This is all the more true given that participants are limited to four-minute interventions both in small-group discussions and their plenary assembly interventions. From the outset, almost everyone has stayed within the limit. But a few have not, and were reminded by a bell that their time was up. They said the four-minute restriction makes it impossible to develop a theological thought.

In any case, the few theologians who have spoken since the Synod assembly began – such as German Cardinal Gerhard Müller and Italian Archbishop Bruno Forte – did not seem to arouse people’s enthusiasm. Nor did Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who took the opportunity to promote his work on the theology of the priesthood.

“The theologians’ speeches are pretty boring,” said on member who is participating in his first Synod assembly.

Annoying applause
Critics inside the Synod assembly say a second problem is that the emphasis is placed on emotion. From the outset, discussions have been prepped by numerous personal testimonies, some of them describing dramatic situations.

Such was the case of a Spanish layman and president of an association for people with disabilities who spoke on behalf of this whole section of society, which he felt was insufficiently integrated into the Church. Then there was a young woman who very movingly explained that her lesbian sister committed suicide after being rejected by the Church. The assembly’s youngest member – just 22 years of age – was also given the floor.

All of them were warmly applauded after they spoke. And that applause left some people in the assembly more than a little annoyed.

“It’s all testimony and emotion,” said one. “But that’s not what our faith is about. Jesus accepts everyone, but tells people to convert. To the adulteress he says: go and sin no more.”

The same critics have also complained of an overly “Western-centric” focus, so much so that themes touching on sexual morality and people “wounded” by the Church (a term used in the assembly’s working document) tend to dominate – as at the afternoon discussions on Thursday, October 12.

“After around fifteen contributions, there were still some forty people to get through. A few days earlier, when talking about ecumenism, there were no more than ten,” one member said.

A third sign of tension is the clear refusal of some participants to take part in the process. At least one participant left his table last Friday afternoon October 13, before the discussions had even begun. His reason? He realized that one of the other people in his small group was known to defend positions radically opposed to his own.

This might have been just an isolated incident, but it’s a sign that it’s not all smooth sailing at this Synod assembly.

 

GAZA PRIEST RECEIVES PHONE CALLS FROM POPE FRANCIS

This story struck me today because I well remember covering Pope Francis’ Mass in Bethlehem on May 25, 2014 on his three-day trip to the Holy Land on the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem, and meeting the then-pastor of Holy Family Church in Gaza.

That 2014 pilgrimage began Saturday, May 24 in Amman, Jordan. On Day Two, Sunday, May 25, the Pope flew to Bethlehem in the State of Palestine (recognized as such by the UN in 2012) where he celebrated Mass. On Monday the 26th, Day Three, the two leaders were in Jerusalem.

I spent hours before the Holy Father’s Mass in Manger Square taking photos and speaking to the faithful who came for the Mass, including a very small group from  the Catholic parish in Gaza. Tickets to the Mass were very hard to come by, especially for Gazan Catholics. No tickets were given out to entire families but only to parts of a family (one parent and one child, for example) requesting tickets.

I did meet the pastor of Gaza’s Holy Family Church that morning but, for a technical snafu, cannot retrieve the column I wrote that day. I remember Fr. Mario’s great joy at being at the papal Mass with a small group of parishioners but his great sorrow that more parishioners were not granted permission by Israel to travel, given the difficult situation in Gaza at the time.

I could not help but remember that day in Bethlehem when I read of the papal phone call to the current pastor as he, precisely today, is in Bethlehem, trying to get back to his flock.

GAZA PRIEST RECEIVES PHONE CALLS FROM POPE FRANCIS

Italian news agency SIR reported today that Gaza pastor, Fr. Gabriele Romanelli, had received phone calls from Pope Francis:

“Yesterday I spoke with Pope Francis who showed me his closeness and his prayers for the entire ecclesial community of Gaza and for all the parishioners and inhabitants”. This was revealed to SIR by the parish priest of Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli, currently stuck in Bethlehem, waiting to return to his parish, the Holy Family, the only Catholic one in the Strip. “I thanked the Pontiff for his appeal for peace in Israel and Palestine last Sunday at the Angelus – added the religious man -. Pope Francis imparted his blessing so that everyone could feel his closeness.” Currently the parish of Gaza hosts 130 refugees and others are hosted in neighboring parish structures. “The bombings – says Father Romanelli, reporting testimonies from his parishioners – are continuous and harsh. Fear rises of a land invasion” 

Here is a story on Fr. Romanelli from the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem from December 2022:
https://www.lpj.org/posts/fr-gabriel-romanelli-parish-priest-of-holy-family-talks-about-small-christian-community-in-gaza-5e4726c9947b5.html

And this as well from the Latin Patriarchate: an interview that gives you an idea of the political situation in Gaza: https://www.lpj.org/posts/interview-with-fr-gabriel-romanelli-ive-parish-priest-of-gaza.html

Vatican News published a story today on the papal phone calls to Fr. Romanelli: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-10/parish-priest-gaza-recounts-two-phone-calls-from-pope-francis.html