Gaza pastor: Pray for peace, hostage release, aid October 26, 2023By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News As the Israel-Hamas war nears its fourth week, the pastor of Gaza’s only Catholic church urged prayers for peace, the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid, telling OSV News his parishioners are experiencing “a terrible situation, a crazy situation.”
Pope appeals for unimpeded aid into Gaza, release of all hostages October 25, 2023By Catholic News Service Catholic News Service Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis again called for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas militants and for allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Initiative urges pope to write encyclical on nonviolence; patriarch cites ‘horrors’ of war October 24, 2023By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News Amid wars around the world, particularly in Ukraine and the Holy Land, the Catholic Church needs to speak out on nonviolence as a necessary option for any hope of peace, said a representative of Pax Christi International, urging the pope to write an encyclical on nonviolence and just peace.
Gaza Catholic parish mourns fellow Christians killed in blast at Greek Orthodox complex October 23, 2023By Judith Sudilovsky OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News The Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Peru, who is serving in the Catholic parish in Gaza, recalled the pain of watching the funeral of Christians killed in an Oct. 19 blast at a Greek Orthodox church.
Pope again calls for release of hostages in Gaza, discusses aid with Biden October 23, 2023By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis called for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss the humanitarian crisis and the need to de-escalate violence in the region.
Biden makes case for U.S. aid to both Israel, Ukraine amid ongoing conflict October 20, 2023By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News Israel and Ukraine both face existential threats and deserve U.S. aid as they fend off conflict, President Joe Biden said in an Oval Office address to the nation on Oct. 19.
‘God end this madness now!’ Christians appeal as Gaza church campus is left in ruins October 20, 2023By Judith Sudilovsky OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News An explosion at the St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church campus in Gaza has left the administration building in ruins, and at least 17 people dead, though numbers have not yet been officially confirmed.
More than half a million kids pray global rosary for peace in Holy Land October 20, 2023By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News Amid the Israel-Hamas war, more than half a million children across the world prayed the rosary for peace.
Palestine ambassador says Vatican should play role in mediating end of ‘carnage’ October 19, 2023By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, World News The Vatican, especially Pope Francis, must double its efforts and urge the international community to end the massacre of Palestinians killed in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war, Palestine’s ambassador to Denmark said.
Hospital attack evokes ‘disbelief, horror,’ says Catholic aid organization spokesman October 19, 2023By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News An attack on a Christian hospital in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war has left staff at the U.S. offices of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association reeling.
In wartime visit to Israel, Biden says hospital blast caused by ‘other team’ October 18, 2023By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News President Joe Biden arrived in Israel Oct. 18 to demonstrate the United States’ support for its ally amid the conflict, and suggested “the other team” was responsible for a blast at a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds, according to a claim from the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Amid Israel-Hamas war, interfaith solidarity more important than ever, say experts October 18, 2023By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News The complex dynamics among three of the world’s major faith traditions — Islam, Judaism and Christianity — have been at once highlighted and strained by the war, which was sparked by Hamas’ militants Oct. 7 ambush on approximately 22 locations in Israel.
