Cardinal Pizzaballa condemns the use of God’s name to justify war, urging truth, compassion, and responsible media in a conflict-torn Middle East.
Newsroom (17/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) Speaking from Jerusalem in a webinar organized by Italy’s International Oasis Foundation, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, delivered a sobering moral reflection on war, religion, and truth. His message was simple yet piercing: God does not stand with those who invoke His name to kill, but with those who suffer and die in war.
At a time when religious language is being manipulated to legitimize armed conflict, Pizzaballa’s words carried the weight of both spiritual authority and human anguish. Responding to remarks by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth—who recently invoked Psalm 144 to rally divine support for military action—the Patriarch warned against turning theology into propaganda. “As believers,” he said, “we must not leave the discourse to those who abuse it. God is not in the weapons or the justifications; if He is present in this war, He is among those suffering, dying, and oppressed—on all sides.”
“No New Crusades”: The Politics Behind the Faith
Pizzaballa stressed that the wars ravaging the Middle East today, however cloaked in religious rhetoric, are fundamentally political. “These conflicts are driven by material interests, as most wars are,” he explained. “To claim divine backing for them is the gravest sin we can commit. We must resist this pseudo-religious language, which speaks not of God but of ourselves.”
His comments came as Pope Leo XIV renewed his plea for peace—another echo, perhaps, of papal appeals ignored amid the grinding noise of artillery. Pizzaballa acknowledged the bitter reality. “We know the Pope’s appeal will fall on deaf ears,” he said quietly. “But what use is the Church if not to speak the truth of a world that has yet to exist?” Violence, he argued, creates only “fear, resentment, and hatred—all that belongs to the world of death.” What is built upon violence, he warned, “has no future.”
Even as hope seems distant, Pizzaballa called for unity and courage among people of faith. “We must continue to say these things,” he urged, “even if they appear far-fetched, because they are true—and truth is what defines us.”
Information as a Battlefield
The Patriarch’s address turned equally critical of the role of the media. “Communication is part of the conflict,” he said. “It shapes not only what is known but also how it is justified. Journalism must not simply report—it must interpret, question, and clarify.”
He described information as a weapon that can either illuminate or obscure, urging journalists to help readers “form a critical view and make their own judgement, rather than accepting narratives designed to manipulate.”
Pizzaballa’s remarks come amid a growing information blackout across Gaza and the West Bank, where humanitarian crises unfold beyond global attention.
Gaza: Forgotten but Still Bleeding
“Gaza is no longer being discussed, but the situation remains dire,” Pizzaballa reported. Despite the cessation of large-scale hunger, more than two million displaced residents still live in dire conditions. Eighty percent of the Strip lies in ruins, reconstruction has yet to begin, and medical infrastructure remains shattered—only 36 hospitals function partially, with severe shortages of even basic antibiotics.
“People are literally living in the sewers,” he said, describing a humanitarian nightmare that neither words nor images can fully capture. The stalemate persists: Hamas refuses to disarm without Israeli withdrawal, while Israel will not withdraw until Hamas lays down arms. “Everything remains at a standstill,” the Cardinal lamented.
The West Bank: A Landscape of Daily Fear
In the West Bank, the picture is hardly brighter. “Almost every day there are attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages,” he noted. Nearly a thousand checkpoints choke daily movement, and travel permits for Palestinians have been largely revoked.
Pizzaballa voiced particular concern over two recent Israeli measures—changes to the land registry and the non-recognition of Palestinian academic qualifications. These moves threaten not only property rights but also education and livelihoods. “Many properties are still tied to pre-1967 administrations,” he explained, “and in our schools, over 230 Christian teachers commute from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Now they will no longer be able to come—affecting their families and our schools alike.”
“To Speak Truth Is Also to Hope”
Throughout his address, Cardinal Pizzaballa’s tone remained solemn but not resigned. His conviction rested on a theological and moral truth: that religion must never serve power, and that even amid despair, truth-telling is its own form of resistance.
“We have seen what violence produces,” he said. “But we must keep speaking the words that sound impossible, because they are the only ones that can still save us.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from asianews.it
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