Churches in the Middle East call for prayers for peace

Pizzaballa: A way out of this conflict is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine

Jerusalem - The Gaza war threatens to become a regional war. Now is the time to become peacemakers, say several church representatives in the region and invite people to pray for peace.

Published  on 12.08.2024 at 11:21  – 

In view of the escalating war in the Middle East, several churches in the region have called for prayers for peace. Words of reconciliation are all the more important as it is becoming increasingly difficult to "imagine a way out of this conflict", according to an appeal issued by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, at the weekend. The Solemnity of the Assumption on 15 August is particularly suitable for prayer.

The Italian Franciscan said that the present, which is characterised by violence and anger, is overwhelming. "Let us pray that in this long night that we are living through, the intercession of the most holy Mary will open up a glimmer of hope for us all and for the whole world," said Pizzaballa. In a prayer created especially for this occasion, it is said that Mary may receive the gift of reconciliation and peace "for this Holy Land, for all its children and for all humanity".

"Danger of war ever more serious"

The situation in the Middle East is becoming "ever more difficult and the danger of war ever more serious". With these words, the Apostolic Vicar of Beirut, Bishop Cesar Essayan, joined Pizzaballa's call to prayer on Monday. War spares no one. Calling for peace also means "committing ourselves to act as peacemakers around us, in our circles of life", said the Franciscan Friar Minor. He recalled St Maximilian Kolbe, who offered his life on behalf of someone in the Auschwitz concentration camp on the eve of the feast day in 1941.

In Baghdad, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, invited people to a joint prayer for peace in the Middle East in the cathedral of the Eastern Catholic Church on the eve of the Assumption. Achieving peace is "the responsibility of every person and every country". The prevailing conflicts must not be allowed to turn into a regional war with disastrous consequences for everyone. (KNA)