INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
close and consistent video contact with the colonized Palestinians.He offered prayers, encouragement and solidarity to Gaza's small
Israel's war on the Palestinian people
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
heavy Israeli bombing on the Gaza Strip, causing many deaths and injuries
I call for an immediate halt to the weapons; and for the courage to resume dialogue, so that all hostages may be released and a final
ceasefire reached."Changing relationsThe Vatican's relations with the Palestinian people have changed enormously over the last
millennium.Pope Francis is a far cry from Pope Urban II, who declared in November 1095 the necessity of conquering Palestine by launching
world, is now held captive by His enemies, and is in subjection to those who do not know God, to the worship of the heathens
She seeks, therefore, and desires to be liberated and does not cease to implore you to come to her aid
From you especially, she asks succour.As the majority of Jerusalem's native inhabitants at the time were Arabic-speaking Christians, or what
the Crusaders called "Suryani", Pope Urban sought to "rescue" them from the Muslims, even though no Eastern Christians had ever complained
Christians and Muslims from Israeli conquest and genocide.In the 17th century, the Vatican's new evangelisation project, known as the
Propaganda Fide, included Palestine.A German priest named Dominicus Germanus de Silesia visited Palestine to learn Arabic and retranslated
when most Christians and Jews in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt switched from Aramaic and Coptic to Arabic
Still, missionary activity remained limited.The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, established by the Crusades in 1099 and dismantled after
revivalWith the revival of the Latin Patriarchate, French missionary efforts also increased
Aside from proselytizing the Arab Christians of Syria and Palestine in the 17th century, the goal had also been to induce the Eastern
Catholic churches to accept the authority of the Pope over their churches.The missionaries' proselytizing activities on behalf of the Latin
attended its Amman branch after the Nakba.In the modern period, particularly after the Zionist Crusade succeeded in conquering Palestine and
reigned from 1963 to 1978, visited East Jerusalem, then held by Jordan, and spent a few hours in Nazareth (designated as part of the
Palestinian state by the 1947 UN Partition Plan, but occupied by Israel since 1948)
It was the first time a reigning pope had visited Palestine
At the time, the Vatican did not recognize Israel.Diplomatic shiftIt was only after the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) surrendered
to the settler colony by signing the Oslo Accords in September 1993 that the Holy See established full diplomatic relations with Israel in
Paul II, allied with the United States Ronald Reagan administration, visited Israel, where he toured the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and
prayed at the Western Wall, known to Palestinians as the Buraq Wall.He also travelled to Bethlehem, where then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat
"Welcome to our land," Arafat told John Paul at a formal reception with Palestinian leaders, diplomats and clerics.It was nine years later,
Muslim Sharia courts in the West Bank and Gaza, grabbed the microphone and criticized Israel in Arabic to the applause of many in the
The Pope did not react, but the Vatican issued a condemnation, saying in a statement that "this intervention was a direct negation of what
dialogue should be."While in Bethlehem, Benedict criticized Israel's apartheid wall and expressed support for the Palestinians in Gaza, who
wall between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.According to his driver, they were driving near a section of the wall covered with graffiti comparing
Bethlehem and the Warsaw Ghetto, when the Pope asked to be let out.The image of him praying at that spot "excited Palestinians and angered
suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, whom Israel is currently starving by blocking all food supplies from entering: "I think of the people
of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a
dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation."The death of Pope Francis, who persistently cared for Palestinians, earned him the
the late Pope from its official X (Twitter) account and directed its missions around the world to do the same
It also issued an internal order for ambassadors not to sign condolence books at the Vatican embassies.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu did not send any condolence messages, although Israel's President Isaac Herzog, whose position is merely titular and ceremonial,
did.Yet despite all his support for the people of Gaza facing the genocidal Israeli military machine, Pope Francis did not impose any
sanctions on Israel.He did not expel the Israeli ambassador from the Vatican, nor did he withdraw the Vatican ambassador from Israel
No suspension of diplomatic relations was even considered, though states like Colombia, Bolivia, Honduras, Belize, Chile, Chad, Turkey,
Brazil and South Africa withdrew their ambassadors or their entire diplomatic missions
realm.Despite his personal compassion for Palestinians, Pope Francis ultimately remained constrained by the western political structures
that, for centuries, have supported conquest and colonialism
His death may be mourned by Gaza's survivors, but the institutions that enabled their ongoing extermination endure.
This article first appeared/also appeared in Tehran Times
