Judith Sudilovsky

Church leaders in Jerusalem expressed sorrow over the news of the passage by the Israeli Knesset of a death penalty law — by hanging — for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks on Israelis, noting that Easter, which celebrates life, represents the opposite.

The takeover of the quarry raises “significant concerns about attempts to impose new facts on the ground,” said Taybeh’s Christ the Redeemer parish priest Father Bashar Fawadleh.

People have a deep desire to return to their lives despite the dire and complex situation in Gaza following two years of war, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said at an annual Christmas press conference on Dec. 22.

The retreat, organized by the St. James vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics and the Latin patriarchate’s general secretariat for the youth in Galilee in collaboration with the Youth Pastoral Office of the Latin Patriarchate, brought together about 200 young people from the Arabic and Hebrew-speaking Catholic communities.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem welcomed “with joy” the announcement of an initial agreement between Hamas and Israel in an Oct. 9 statement, but also stressed the “absolute urgency” for the “immediate” and “unconditional” entry of humanitarian relief and sufficient aid into Gaza.