‘I am close to you,’ says Pope to martyred flock in the Holy Land

By Linda Bordoni

In a letter dated 7 October 2024, one year from the "sad day" when the lighting “of the fuse of hatred (…) that exploded in a spiral of violence,” Pope Francis reaches out to the Catholics of the Holy Land “as blood and tears are still being shed.”

“I am thinking of you and praying for you,” the Pope says, decrying “the shameful inability of the international community and the most powerful countries to silence the weapons and put an end to the tragedy of war.”

He notes that “Anger is growing, along with the desire for revenge, while it seems that few people care about what is most needed and what is most desired: dialogue and peace.”

“War is a defeat,” he reiterates, "Weapons do not build the future but destroy it, violence never brings peace. History proves this, yet years and years of conflict seem to have taught us nothing.”

A defenceless flock loved by God

Thanking the “small, defenceless flock” who dwells in the Holy Land “thirsting for peace” for wanting to remain in their lands, praying and loving despite everything, he describes Holy Land Catholics as “a seed loved by God.”

He encourages them to find a way to bear fruit and give life, without letting themselves be engulfed by the darkness that surrounds them.

“Planted in your sacred lands, become sprouts of hope, because the light of faith leads you to testify to love amid words of hatred, to encounter amid growing confrontation, to unity amid increasing hostility,” he writes.

And saying he writes “with the heart of a father”, to his children, who are “today experiencing a real martyrdom, the Pope asks them to sow “seeds of peace amid the winter of war,” and be “witnesses to the power of a non-violent peace.”

Day of prayer and fasting

Pope Francis notes that today people do not know how to find peace. “As Christians, we must never tire of imploring peace from God.”

“That is why, on this day, I have urged everyone to observe a day of prayer and fasting,” he says, calling them “the weapons of love that change history, the weapons that defeat our one true enemy: the spirit of evil that foments war.”

"I am close to you, I am with you"

The whole second part of the letter is composed of a sequence of “I am with you, I am close to you.” Pope Francis utters these words to his brothers and sisters, but also to the men and women of every confession and religion who in the Middle East are suffering from the insanity of war:

To the people of Gaza who are in his thoughts and prayers every day:

To the mothers who weep while looking at their dead or wounded children, "like Mary at the sight of Jesus";

To you “who are afraid to look up for fear of fire raining down from the skies”;

To you who “have no voice, for despite all the talk of plans and strategies, there is little concern for those who suffer the devastation of war, which the powerful impose on others”;

To you who thirst for peace and justice, “and refuse to yield to the logic of evil and, in the name of Jesus, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Gratitude to those who assist those suffering in war

Finally, the Pope has words of thanks for the “sons and daughters of peace,” for those, who, throughout the world, assist those who suffer, and for the bishops and priests “who bring God’s consolation to those who feel alone and abandoned.”