On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, Pope Francis emphasized that the horror of the demolition of millions of Jews could never be forgotten or denied this tragedy.
Francis mentioned not only Jews, but besides “many Christians among whom were many martyrs”, including St Maximilian Maria Kolbe and St. Teresa Benedict of the Cross, known as Edith Stein.
The Pope called for "all of us to work together to eradicate the scourge of anti-Semitism, along with all forms of spiritual persecution."
– Let's build a more brotherly, fairer planet together. Let us rise young people so that they may have an open heart to all, guided by the logic of brotherhood, forgiveness and peace— Francis appealed.
On January 27, 1945, the Red Army liberated about 7,000 prisoners in a camp where Germans killed at least 1.1 million people.
Crisis in Israel's relations with the Vatican
The anniversary dates back to the top crisis in Vatican relations with Jews since the Holy See established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1994. The crisis is caused by the war in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in more than 40,000 Palestinians being killed and hundreds of thousands others being displaced.
Less than a year ago, the chief rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, criticized the Catholic Church for the political declarations received by Israel as unfavorable.
Francis, among another things, called for humanitarian treatment of people in the Gaza Strip, where "the humanitarian corridors must be urgently and urgently guaranteed and the full population protected". The Pope besides said that “wars are always a failure.”
In 2023, Israeli abroad Minister Eli Cohen even filed a complaint with the Vatican for those and another statements that did not appeal to the Tel Aviv authorities. "It is unacceptable that a message was issued expressing concern primarily about civilians from Gaza, while Israel is burying 1,300 murdered," said the Israeli diplomat.
Cohen was “expected” that “the Vatican would declare a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the murderous actions of Hamas terrorists who harmed women, children and the aged simply due to the fact that they were Jews and Israelis.”
He considered the “unwarranted” comparison of the suffering of judaic civilians with Palestinian civilians. He said that "Hamas, a terrorist organization worse than ISIS, invaded Israel with the intention of hurting innocent civilians, while Israel is simply a democracy that tries to defend its citizens against Hamas".
St Peter's successor consistently condemned Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, calling them "violent...not war."
The chief of Vatican diplomacy of cardinals besides spared much criticism about Israel. Pietro Parolin. The Vatican State Secretary has repeatedly condemned the “slaughter” caused by Israel’s “military operation” in the Gaza Strip
The Embassy of Israel at the Holy See protested, pointing out that Parolin's remarks were "unproportional" and that speaking of "carnage" is "deplorable".
Parolin's remarks appeared, among others, on 13 February of the year at a organization at the Italian Embassy on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Lateran Agreements. The head of Vatican diplomacy asked for his position on what was going on in the Gaza Strip and replied: " I think we're all outraged by what's going on out there, this slaughter. He added: – We request that the right of defence which Israel cites to justify this operation be proportionate. And given the 30,000 casualties, it surely isn't.
Parolin besides condemned Hamas' attack in Israel on 7 October 2023 and "all forms of anti-Semitism".
Israeli officials were to be peculiarly upset at the time that the Cardinal spoke of an estimated death toll in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Embassy stated in a peculiar protest note that "to justice the legitimacy of the war without taking into account all applicable circumstances and data inevitably leads to incorrect conclusions". It was added that Hamas turned Gaza into “the largest terrorist base always seen” and argued that Israel was conducting its military operations there “with full respect for global law”.
The Israelis accuse the Vatican that it has not given them adequate "unconditional" support. The very condemnation of anti-Semitism and of "all manifestations of hatred towards Jews and Judaism" is insufficient.
Recently Francis praised the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
It is worth noting that in 2015 the Vatican signed agreements with the “Palestinian State” on “the basic aspects” of the Catholic Church's activities in Palestinian territory.
It was a form of designation of the Palestinian State, which the Holy See has tried to do since 2013.
The agreement between the Vatican Secretary for State Relations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher and the Palestinian abroad Minister Riyadh al-Malki, provided for a resolution of the conflict with Israel based on the expression of the existence of "two states".
This was met with the immediate negative reaction of Israel, which defined the text of the agreement as “one-sided” and “ignoring the historical rights of the people of Israel”. The Israeli Ministry of abroad Affairs expressed "replication" due to the conclusion of the agreement, suggesting that it was a "preliminary step", which damaged "the possible of reaching a peace agreement and would have a bad impact on global efforts to convince the Palestinian side to return to direct negotiations with Israel".
"Israel cannot accept the unilateral statements contained in the agreement that do not take into account its vital interests and the peculiar historical position of the judaic people in Jerusalem," added the statement.
Sources: cruxnow.com, guest.pl
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