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Israel’s war against Hamas has generated tensions, but Jewish leaders say both sides remain deeply committed to the path of reconciliation fostered by the Second Vatican Council document.
A young altar server censes as Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, prepares the eucharist during Sunday morning Mass at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City on July 20, 2025. (photo: Omar Al-Qattaa / Getty )
The Israel-Hamas war, which began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and quickly escalated to deadly armed conflict in Gaza, has strained relations between Catholic and Jewish leaders.
Following the initiation of the conflict, Pope Francis repeatedly questioned Israel’s use of force against Palestinian civilians and pondered whether Israel’s warfare amounted to a “genocide.” The late Pope was particularly invested in the welfare of Gaza’s tiny Christian community and called Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic church, where hundreds of Christians and a few Muslims have found shelter for two years, almost every day. On July 17, the church was hit by what the Israel Defense Forces called an errant IDF tank shell. Three Christians were killed and 15 persons were injured, including Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest.
While Jewish leaders are grateful for his efforts to fight antisemitism and his outreach to Jewish communities, many believe Francis should have spoken out more forcefully against Hamas and other Islamic terror groups and that he was overly critical of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The American Jewish Committee, for example, called the war Israel’s “defensive fight for survival.”
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
The Israel-Hamas war, which began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and quickly escalated to deadly armed conflict in Gaza, has strained relations between Catholic and Jewish leaders.
Following the initiation of the conflict, Pope Francis repeatedly questioned Israel’s use of force against Palestinian civilians and pondered whether Israel’s warfare amounted to a “genocide.” The late Pope was particularly invested in the welfare of Gaza’s tiny Christian community and called Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic church, where hundreds of Christians and a few Muslims have found shelter for two years, almost every day. On July 17, the church was hit by what the Israel Defense Forces called an errant IDF tank shell. Three Christians were killed and 15 persons were injured, including Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest.
While Jewish leaders are grateful for his efforts to fight antisemitism and his outreach to Jewish communities, many believe Francis should have spoken out more forcefully against Hamas and other Islamic terror groups and that he was overly critical of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The American Jewish Committee, for example, called the war Israel’s “defensive fight for survival.”
Continued below.
The State of Catholic-Jewish Relations on 60th Anniversary of ‘Nostra Aetate’
Israel’s war against Hamas has generated tensions, but Jewish leaders say both sides remain deeply committed to the path of reconciliation fostered by the Second Vatican Council document.
