Church and Israel

On the day after the Mass for the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry, Pope Leo XIV greets delegations from non-Catholic Churches, ecclesial communities, and other faith traditions, recalling his predecessor’s commitment to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.

Together with thousands of Israelis we pray during the funeral of the killed members of family Bibas. Shiri, Kfir and Ariel remain in our memory as the victims of terrible act of terror. May the world never see tragedies like this one.

On January 27 each year the world remembers the Shoah and its victims.

In the difficult times of war, the first touched by the conflict are the children. As a gesture of solidarity our friends from Europe invited children to pray for Peace. We thank them for this beautiful support.

A visible presence of a huge Israeli flag together with that of Vatican at St. Peter's Square in Rome during Pope's prayer of "Angelus" raises the curiosity of who are the people behind it. During his stay in Rome fr. Piotr met the founders of the Association Ricordiamo Insieme.

Pope Francis says he remembers the suffering of the Palestinians and Israelis every day, prays for them and sends a "hug" in "this dark moment". He calls for an end to the violence, rescue efforts and monetary aid for all.

Last Friday (13.10) Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin made a visit to Embassy of Israel to the Holy See to express solidarity for last Saturday's attack on Israel and concern for the lives of civilians in Israel and Palestine.

"Together with the entire Church in Poland, we express pain and deep solidarity with the nation of Israel, attacked in an inhuman and ruthless way by Hamas" - wrote in the Statement the president of the Polish Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki and the Chairman of the Committee of the Polish Episcopal Conference for Dialogue with Judaism, Cardinal. Grzegorz Ryś. We publish the full text of the Statement.

The Vicar of St. James, Fr. Piotr, calls upon every member of SJV to engage in intense prayer for Peace, emphasizing that "Acts of terrorism are never justifiable".

On Monday (21.08) Mr. Eric Adams, the mayor of New York visited Jerusalem during his 3-day long trip to Israel. In Jerusalem Campus for the Arts Mayor Adams met religious leaders. Fr. Piotr represented the Association of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.

The Latin and Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem attend a meeting in Haifa during which the Israeli President reaffirms his commitment to defend freedom of religion and worship in Israel.

The new book by Limore Yagil, titled "Catholic Aid to Jews under the Occupation" (written in French: "Des catholiques au secours des Juifs sous l'Occupation"), collects the stories of the rescue of Jews in France by more than seventy Catholic bishops, many priests, and nuns, often with the help of Pope Pius XII. The author is a professor at Sorbonne University in Paris.

The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Jerry Pillay, expresses concern over a violent protest by Jewish extremists against an Evangelical Christian event in Jerusalem, upholding that Jerusalem is a shared Holy City of three religions.

Our communities and their members mourn the soldiers who fell in the wars of the State of Israel and we pray with ever greater determination that peace might come.

Many Catholics in France saved the lives of thousands of Jews who were persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. A comic book, supported by Yad Vashem France, focuses on one of these stories that shaped the fate of entire families.

Pope Francis greets participants in an interreligious dialogue group between the Holy See and Palestine and recalls the universal value of Jerusalem for the three major monotheistic religions.

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem call for de-escalation as spiral of violence and tensions continue in the Holy Land.

The Vatican Secretariat of State has completed its virtual reproduction of a collection of 170 volumes preserving the requests for help addressed to Pope Pius XII by Jews from all over Europe after the beginning of Nazi-Fascist persecution.

A statement by tour guides in Israel regarding the increasing cycle of violence in Jerusalem was sent to our Vicariate. We are grateful to all who signed it.

We would like to thank for the letter of support signed by Israeli scholars that was sent to our Vicariate on Sunday (19.02). The letter was written in eight languages and expresses the solidarity with Christian communities in Israel. We publish the letter.