(CNA) Catholics must be mindful of the humanity on both sides of conflict in Israel and Gaza, said a top official at a global Catholic aid agency shortly before the conflict reportedly reached a cease-fire on Thursday.
“The key thing is to, as Catholics, to just put oneself into the humanity of the situation on both sides – which is, people are terrified,” Bill O’Keefe, executive vice president for mission, mobilization and advocacy at Catholic Relief Services, told CNA on Thursday of the conflict.
Children both in Gaza and Israel had to witness rocket attacks or airstrikes, he noted.
“Our focus as Catholics has got to be ‘this is unacceptable’,” he said of the 11-day conflict. “Our role should be pushing and pushing for peace, and in a way that makes sure that people on both sides are thriving, like we would want to be thriving if we were in that position.”
Catholics also cannot ignore the suffering in Gaza, he said, a territory mentioned in Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments. The humanitarian situation there “should be a matter of concern for Catholics who believe that all are created in the image and likeness of God,” he said.
Pope Francis on Sunday, May 16, warned of a “spiral of death and destruction” in the region. He called the deaths of children due to the conflict “terrible and unacceptable,” after praying the Regina Coeli at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Follow
