Jerusalem, 22 July 2025
In a joint press conference held this morning in Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, The Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, delivered a pastoral and humanitarian testimony after their visit to Gaza, where they had witnessed firsthand the immense suffering endured by its people under bombardment, siege, and deprivation.
In his address, Patriarch Theophilos III described Gaza as “a land pierced by the wounds of war, where the innocent bleed beneath the weight of a merciless assault.” He affirmed that the Church entered Gaza as a servant of the crucified Lord, encountering in the faces of the survivors an unyielding dignity, bearing the image of God even amid widespread devastation.
The Patriarch spoke of the profound impact left by the sight of shattered churches, especially the Holy Family Church and the Monastery of Saint Porphyrius, where prayer rose alongside the cries of the wounded. He emphasized that the Church’s presence is not symbolic, but a living manifestation of the Gospel’s call to stand with the oppressed…..not with words, but with action.
Concluding the conference, Patriarchs Theophilos III and Pizzaballa underscored that the ongoing destruction in Gaza is a humanitarian and moral catastrophe that cannot be ignored. They affirmed that the Church will remain a living voice of truth, bearing the Cross of hope in the face of injustice, and upholding human dignity against policies that desecrate the sanctity of life.