Provincial Council calls for ceasefire in the Holy Land

One year ago, on October 7, 2023, the unresolved conflict between Israel and Palestine erupted in an unprecedented attack by Hamas. In the initial attack, 1139 Israelis were killed, and 251 hostages were taken; they were innocent women, men, and children. Since that day, the Israeli Government has responded with an intensive invasion and bombardment of Gaza, killing over 41,000 Palestinian men, women, and children to date and forcing the rest of the population (some two million people) to flee their homes in search of safety, shelter, food and water. These realities and now the potential further expansion of the war in Lebanon compel us to "read the signs of the times" to discern what is ours to do. 

We recognize that violence in the Holy Land did not start on October 7, 2023. That attack was one more deplorable act of death in a much longer history of conflict that has claimed the lives of so many children, women and men. We discern that an underlying reason for so much death and violence is the decades-long and continuing occupation of Palestinian lands by the Israeli Government and settlers—which has been deemed illegal by international law.  Our hearts break witnessing the humanitarian crisis and the expansion of violence in Gaza, the Occupied West Bank, and most recently in Lebanon. We fear this will continue to create conditions where generations of violence may afflict the Holy Land and larger Middle East.  

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we remember His warning that “those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”  Violence is not the path to a just and sustainable peace. As followers of St. Francis, we wish to mold our hearts and actions in the spirit of the Gospel Beatitude, “Blessed are the Peacemakers.”   

Thus, we urge an immediate ceasefire, a return of all hostages, the immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance, a limitation on the U.S. Government’s arms sales to Israel, and steps of reconciliation to transform the current trajectory of death into a long-term and sustainable peace.  Although the peace we seek might seem increasingly elusive, it is an alternative preferable to continuing violence or to passive resignation, hopelessness and despair.  As men of faith, we continue to believe that God’s mercy and faithful love provide the paradigm for true peace. 

In a time of increasing despair, we remember our father in faith, St. Francis. When he faced life-crippling despair, God’s grace moved him to pray in the small, neglected church of San Damiano.  There he received a life- and world-changing answer. In this same spirit we encourage everyone to join us in making Oct. 7, 2024, a day of fasting and prayer for peace in the Holy Land, the larger Middle East and in the world.