2 days ago
Irish Catholic bishops accuse Israel of ‘genocidal actions' and 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza
IRISH CATHOLIC BISHOPS have accused the Israeli government of 'genocidal actions' and 'ethnic cleansing' in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement today, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference called for arms supplies to Israel to be 'cut off' and urged parishioners to lobby their local politicians.
At Masses this weekend across Ireland parishioners will be invited to pray together for peace in Gaza and during the month of June, parishes are asked to express solidarity with Gaza.
The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference added that 'it seems clear that famine is being used as a weapon of war' in Gaza, where adequate aid is being denied.
It noted that more than 600,000 Palestinians have been displaced since 7 October, 2023 and said that the 'evidence points to a staged strategy of ethnic cleansing aimed at removing the Palestinian people from their homeland'.
'It is becoming increasingly clear to people on the ground that these are genocidal actions sanctioned by the Government of Israel,' said the Bishops' Conference.
It also described what is happening in Gaza and also the West Bank as 'unconscionable and disproportionate'.
'It is immoral for world leaders to stand by inactively in the face of this outrageous tragedy for humanity,' said the Bishops' Conference.
It called for the international community to 'intervene' and to cut off arms supplies to Israel.
The Bishops' Conference said such a move will require 'courage' from international leaders and added: 'Examples of courage are being given every day by heroic doctors, nurses and aid workers risking their lives in service of the wounded and those who have been displaced.'
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The Bishops added that people in parishes across Ireland are 'horrified by what they are witnessing' and many feel helpless.
They called on parishioners to lobby their political representatives, support humanitarian aid, and also to pray for an end to the conflict, including the return of all hostages and prisoners.
The Bishops' Conference also recalled a message delivered from Pope Leo XIV during a recent general audience at the Vatican where he renewed a call for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and 'full respect for humanitarian law'.
'In the Gaza Strip, the cry of mothers, of fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of children and who are continually forced to move in search of a little food and safer shelter from bombing, rises ever more intensely to the sky,' said Pope Leo.
The Church and Palestine
In 2015,
the Vatican formally recognised the State of Palestine.
Israel warned at the time that the move would have 'implications for future cooperation between Israel and the Vatican' and described it as a 'hasty step' that 'damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement'.
Meanwhile, the late
Pope Francis described some of Israel's actions in Gaza as 'terrorism' in his memoir released in January.
Francis
daily called the Holy Family Church in Gaza and warned that the Church complex had 'become a theatre of death'.
And in his final months, the late pope gave his blessing for a
popemobile that had been used for a papal journey to the Middle East in 2014 to be converted into a health clinic for Gaza children.
Popemobile being readied for its new use as a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza
However, the aid blockade has meant the transformed vehicle has not yet been allowed access to Gaza.
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