The Contrast Between Pope Francis and Church of England Bishops & Jewish Leaders like Chief Rabbi Mirvis Who Support Genocide is Stark
Pope Francis and Palestine: The Pontiff spoke out in support of Gaza during the war
If you listen to the broadcast media’s coverage of the death of Pope Francis then there is one subject that is conspicuous by its absence. The Pope’s concern about the Genocide in Gaza and in particular the welfare of those sheltering in the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City. This despite articles on the BBC and Sky News websites.
The print media were little better. There was no mention of Francis’ concern for the Palestinians in the obituaries of the Guardian, the Telegraph or Independent although the Guardian and Independent had articles on the Pope and Palestine.
In the United States there was a piece on NPR and a single paragraph on CNN world’s obituary which quoted Francis as saying that “This is not war. This is terrorism.” Skwawkbox printed a list of its articles about Francis.
On Monday Pope Francis died at the age of 88, hours after appearing at an Easter mass appealing for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The Pope’s address called out for
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.
I appeal to the warring parties: call a cease-fire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!
The Pope was an outspoken opponent of military conflict and war profiteers, climate destruction, and runaway economic inequality.
“In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenceless civilians and attack schools, hospitals, and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity,”
News of Francis’ death came after a bout of double pneumonia left him hospitalized for more than a month. The Nation‘s John Nichols wrote on Sunday that Francis’ calls for peace had made him
arguably the most consistent high-profile defender of the humanity of the Palestinian people during a period when the Israeli assault on Gaza has been pursued with relentless violence.
This pope has challenged economic injustice, racism, environmental neglect, militarism, and the abuses of new technologies that increase inequality. He has faced his share of criticism, not just from conservatives who disapprove of his views but also from reformers who sincerely wish that he would do more to modernize the church
In a tribute to Francis, Palestinian theologian Munther Isaac wrote that “he conveyed true compassion to Palestinians, most notably to those in Gaza during this genocide.”
“The pope left our world today, and the occupation and the wall remained. Even worse, he left our world while a genocide continues to unfold,”
Isaac pointed to the pontiff’s call for a thorough international investigation of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
“Today I wonder: Will the millions who will mourn his death these coming days respect this wish of his? Will they care for Gazans and Palestinians the way he did?”
Trump’s MAGA Crowd Welcomed Francis’s Death
The White House managed to issue a 5 word tribute to Pope Francis. It didn’t take long before that rabid representative of US imperialism, Congresswoman Marjorie Greene, whose previous expertise was in ‘Jewish space lasers’ causing fires in California, welcomed his death. ‘Evil is being defeated by the hand of God’ she wrote on Twitter.
MAGA ‘Christians’ spent the day crowing over Pope Francis’s death and suggesting he’s in hell. These and others on the American and the British far-right had long been waging a war against Pope Francis.
Francis stood out amongst religious leaders for his forthright opposition to the Genocide in Gaza in contrast to the miserable refusal of Church of England bishops to say anything. This despite the fact that Justin Welby was forced to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury because he had covered up the abuse of children.
Francis had many enemies, not least in the Catholic Church. According to The Times Anti-reform cardinals ‘want the Pope to quit’ In the war against Pope Francis. The Guardian described Cardinal Raymond Burke of America as ‘one of Pope Francis’s most prominent enemies.’ and called him
one of the most conspicuous reactionaries in the Vatican. In manner and in doctrine, he represents a long tradition of heavyweight American power brokers of white ethnic Catholicism.
Burke was stripped of his posts in the Vatican’s internal court system. Cardinal Burke’s combination of anti-communism, ethnic pride and hatred of feminism nurtured a succession of prominent rightwing lay figures in the US, from Pat Buchanan through Bill O’Reilly and Steve Bannon.
Francis was the first Pope chosen from outside Europe since the 8th century and the first Jesuit to become pope.
When Francis became pope he had a conservative reputation having been an opponent of liberation theology in Argentina. He had a chequered reputation in Argentina itself as a result of his relationship with the Military Junta.
In 2013 when he was elected to the Papacy I wrote a blog ‘Pope Francis I – A Humble and Obedient Servant for Argentine’s Fascist Junta. In it I described how in 2010, he was questioned as a witness by judges probing the arrest and torture of two young Jesuit priests, Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics, who were taken to the notorious Naval School of Mechanics in March 1976 which was known as a torture center during the so-called Dirty War, in which tens of thousands of suspected left-wing activists “disappeared.”
Yorio and Jalics were freed alive after five months. Bergoglio was alleged to have betrayed the young missionaries to the regime because they had become opposition sympathizers and he wanted to preserve the Jesuits’ political neutrality. He was also questioned in two more investigations into regime crimes, but no charges were brought and he denied any wrongdoing.
But whatever his record under the Junta, the new Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio set about making amends. He accused the Israelis of ‘terrorism’ and ‘genocide’. ‘This is not war, this is terrorism, yesterday children were bombed. This is not war.’
Pope Francis contacted every night the Holy Family Church
Whereas Hamas paid tribute to Pope Francis Israeli leaders did not hesitate to condemn him. Former Israeli Ambassador to Italy, Dror Eydar, called on the Israeli Government to boycott his funeral because the Pope was ‘anti-Semitic’!
Former Israeli Envoy Urges Boycott Of Pope’s Funeral | Dawn News English
The Times of Israel reported that
The Foreign Ministry has erased a post on its official X account expressing sorrow over the death of Pope Francis.
“Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing,” read the post. It was taken down hours later, and diplomatic missions around the world were ordered to take down any similar posts and not to sign condolence books in Vatican embassies, the Ynet news site reported Tuesday.
Israelis diplomats were furious at the decision and the damage it caused.
“We received no explanation, only an unequivocal order to delete,” a diplomat told Ynet. “When we asked, we were told that the issue was ‘under review.’ This does not satisfy us, and certainly not the public to whom we represent Israel.”
“Not only did we not say words of condolence, but we chose to erase them – and that looks bad,” said another. “Very bad.”
A senior Foreign Ministry official told the news site that the post went up “accidentally.”
Cyprus’s KNEWS also reported that
As condolence messages for Pope Francis poured in from world leaders, many noticed something missing: almost complete silence from Israel’s top officials.
While President Isaac Herzog did issue a brief message honoring the Pope’s memory and expressing hope that his legacy inspires kindness, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar made no public remarks. Not even a tweet.
It is to the credit of Pope Francis that the modern day equivalent of Hitler’s Germany and Adolf Hitler should celebrate his death – because that is what Israel and its leaders have become.
Panic spread among worshippers as Israeli airstrike hits near Gaza church – YouTube
The Holy Family Church in Gaza City
Just like the murder of 15 Red Crescent workers and medics, the attack on Gaza’s churches proves beyond a scintilla of doubt that Israel’s war is not against Hamas but against the people of Gaza. Keir Starmer and David Lammy should be arrested as war criminals for supplying Israel with the means to carry out the genocide, knowing full well that they will be used to murder civilians. Israel’s actions are not one jot different from the reprisals that the Nazis enacted against civilian populations who were deemed to support the resistance or ‘terrorists’ in their eyes.
In December 2023 the Vatican News reported that the IDF had entered the compound, shooting at anyone leaving the church.
“The victims are an elderly woman and her daughter who rushed out of the building to rescue her mother. Israel has justified the attack, claiming the presence of a missile launcher in the parish,” it reported.
Nahida — later named by Pope Francis as Nahida Khalil Anton — and her daughter Samar had been “shot and killed” as they walked to the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa (Missionaries of Charity), part of the compound of the Holy Family parish, and home to more than 54 disabled people.
“One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” the statement said. “Seven more people were shot and wounded as they tried to protect others inside the church compound. No warning was given, no notification was provided. They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.” The incident had occurred “around noon”.
In a statement quoted by the BBC the IDF said:
“During the dialogue between the IDF and representatives of the community, no reports of a hit on the church, nor civilians being injured or killed, were raised. A review of the IDF’s operational findings support this.”
Pope Francis condemned the attack on the compound,
“where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, and nuns . . . Some say, ‘This is terrorism. This is war.’ Yes, it is war. It is terrorism.”
Writing on social media Hammam Farah, a psychotherapist based in Canada, described the two women as “family friends”. They had been walking to the convent to use the only bathroom, he wrote. “Their bodies remain strewn across the church courtyard. . . The Christian community in Gaza is on the verge of extinction.”
According to the Patriarchate “a rocket from an IDF tank targeted the convent.” The building’s generator — its only source of electricity — and “fuel resources” had been destroyed.
The house was damaged by the resulting explosion and massive fire. Two more rockets, fired by an IDF tank, targeted the same Convent and rendered the home uninhabitable. The 54 disabled persons are currently displaced and without access to the respirators that some of them need to survive.
The statement continued that three people had been wounded inside the church compound as the result of “heavy bombing” in the area. Solar panels and water tanks — “indispensable for the survival of the community” — had been destroyed. The Patriarchate was
at a loss to comprehend how such an attack could be carried out, even more so as the whole Church prepares for Christmas.
The Holy Family parish is the only Roman Catholic church in Gaza. Its parish priest, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, said that about 600 people were sheltering in the church. Many had arrived after an Israeli air strike on St Porphyrios Greek Orthodox church, the world’s third oldest church, which killed 18 people, including nine children. Despite IDF orders to leave the northern part of Gaza, people had chosen to stay.
“People said ‘where shall we go . . . to a place where there is no water, food or electricity?’ It was dangerous, as bombings were taking place both north and south. They chose to remain where they were, trusting in Jesus, so they truly felt the presence of God.”
Every night Francis contacted the Holy Family Church in Gaza City which sheltered Christians and Muslims. Madeleine Davis of the Church Times quoted the Patrichate’s statement that “A sniper of the IDF murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza.”
This gives the lie to the Israeli claim that they don’t attack or target civilians but only places with Hamas ‘command and control centres’. It is doubtful that Hamas operated from a Catholic church! The irony is that it is Hamas which is accused by Israeli propagandists of being anti-Christian yet it is Israel which has consistently attacked places of worship – Muslim or Christian.
Israeli attacks against Christians, clergy on the rise in West Bank: Palestinian pastor
The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who has visited the church a number of times, said that he was “heartbroken” by the information provided by the Patriarchate, which
gives a picture of seemingly deliberate and callous killing by IDF soldiers of innocent civilians: an elderly woman and her daughter in the grounds of a church. This killing has to stop. It can never be justified.”
Francis died at 88 after a final appeal for a Gaza Cease-Fire.
‘Will the millions who will mourn his death these coming days respect this wish of his? Will they care for Gazans and Palestinians the way he did?
asked Common Dreams. It is a good question. Those who mourn Pope Francis and praise his work for peace and against war yet who ignore his vehement criticism of Israel’s genocidal terrorism are nothing but hypocrites who worship the form but ignore the substance..
Tony Greenstein
Pope Francis may well have been one of few world religious leaders to condemn the genocide in Gaza, but the Roman Catholic Church as an institution, was hesitant to publicly condemn Hitler, the Nazi regime and the Holocaust during WWII. Some Roman Catholics did help Jews but there’s a long history of anti-Smitism in the Roman Catholic Church which tried to remain neutral during the war. The Nazis banned vivisection in Germany but practiced ritual slaughter on an industrial scale and medical experiments on Jews. For a Christian to say this isn’t war, this is terrorism”, seems not only tautological but rather ridiculous. The same can be said of the term “war crime.” The Christian Bible tells us that thou shalt not kill. One of the things about nation states and modern warfare is that they do wage war against non-combatants and innocent civilians.
This is true though I’m not sure how helpful it would have been for the Pope to condemn Hitler. The Vatican would probably have been invaded. In fact the Church did a hell of a lot more to help Jews than the Zionist movement. I cover this extensively in my book