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.

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