Cardinal Gugerotti: Holy Land Christians need our help now

By Stefano Leszczynski

In a letter to Bishops, issued on March 17 to highlight the importance of this year’s Good Friday Collection for the places linked to Jesus’ earthly life, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, recalled the "weeping, despair, and destruction" that have marked the Holy Land in recent years due to violence and conflict.

In an interview with Vatican Media following his letter, the Cardinal explained, “This appeal for the Christians of the Holy Land is, at the same time, a general appeal to urgently put an end to this disgrace, this form of looting as if the land were private property. The land belongs to the people.”

Reflecting on the importance of reestablishing a genuine and meaningful dialogue, he added, “Dialogue is sometimes extremely difficult, but it saves lives. The only condition for dialogue is respect for the other.”

World is silent, but the Pope is not

Cardinal Gugerotti emphasized that peace cannot be achieved through military force, which only serves the interests of a few, as he pointed to the ongoing crises in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as conflicts in Ukraine, Africa, and Asia. In all these cases, he suggested, Pope Francis has been a strong voice for peace.

"It is both frightening and consoling," the Cardinal noted, "to have felt the absence of the Pope’s voice during his recent illness. Many have told me, 'When the Pope is silent, the world is silent.' His voice is the one that speaks for human dignity, and when it falls silent, no other voices are heard.”

Defending human dignity

The Church has always been committed to defending the sanctity of life, and this priority is even more pressing today.

According to a report released by the Custody of the Holy Land, due to the need to focus on emergency assistance for those in dire need, many planned projects for the Holy Land have been "downsized, delayed, suspended, or canceled." 

Inhumanity robs us of sleep

"The images from the Holy Land," Cardinal Gugerotti reflected, "rob us of sleep and take our breath away. What is happening is inhumane."

With this sentiment, he reaffirmed the importance of the Good Friday Collection, a papal initiative dating back to Pope St. Paul VI’s time. "That is why I have asked that fundraising efforts not be duplicated, to avoid dispersing resources. This collection is the backbone of aid for the Holy Land. I have urged in my letter that it be a pastoral priority."

The Church’s voice

The Cardinal highlighted that while the collection traditionally aims to preserve the holy places, the primary concern now is preserving the Christian communities themselves.

"We cannot risk a mass exodus of Christians, abandoning the lands that still carry the fragrance of Jesus," he said, adding, "These people are a living testimony of an unbroken connection with Christ. We do not raise our voices solely for humanitarian reasons—these people are a sacrament for us. But, of course, the Church also speaks out for all who are persecuted, weak, tormented, and abandoned."

Believing in a better world

The ongoing turmoil in the Holy Land has also had a devastating effect on pilgrimages, which allow the faithful to experience the sacred sites and God’s presence on Earth. Today, pilgrimages take on an additional meaning: bearing witness and showing solidarity with those who suffer injustice.

This holds special significance as the Church prepares for Easter and the Jubilee of Hope, as the Cardinal lamented that many Eastern Christians will not be able to travel to Rome for the Jubilee due to war and poverty. “They are forced," he said, "to live this ‘prophetic time’ at home.”

Despite these hardships, Cardinal Gugerotti remains firm in his belief in a better future.

“We Christians," he insisted, "stubbornly believe in the prophecy of a better world. We are certain it will come, but we also have the duty to anticipate it as much as possible. We must defeat what we call sin, because all these sufferings are sins—not only social sins but also political ones.”