Cardinal Nichols celebrates Mass in Gaza

Cardinal meets Gaza's Catholic children

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is leading the Westminster Diocesan Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, celebrated Mass for the small Catholic community there yesterday. Cardinal Vincent said: "It was a great privilege to be with them and to convey to them the support and prayers of our Catholic community here on this pilgrimage and in our Diocese of Westminster. They were very grateful." He went on to say: "I thanked them for their courage and I encouraged them to be consistent and faithful to their presence in all the difficulties that Gaza encounters in these days."

Meanwhile, the diocesan pilgrimage continued on to Bethlehem where they celebrated Mass with the Beit Jala Catholic parish, where they received a warm welcome.

In an interview with the Guardian, Cardinal Nichols said he was “deeply shocked at the effects of war and endemic poverty,” after seeing the aftermath of the Israeli regime’s 50-day military offensive against the blockaded Gaza Strip. He said he had seen “a deeply depressing situation in a devastated region where people are trapped.”

During his trip to Gaza, Cardinal Nichols also visited a hospital badly damaged by Israeli attacks, and an orphanage caring for dozens of traumatized children who had lost their parents in the war. He voiced concern over the deteriorating economic situation and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

There was little sign of rubble being cleared, let alone reconstruction, he said. “It’s astonishing the number of people with the appearance of nothing to do – people just sitting on the streets. There is only the barest sense of order. This is not an economy that is going to be able to support its population.”

More than 2,130 Palestinians, including around 570 children, lost their lives and some 11,000 were injured during the 50-day long Israeli onslaught this summer. Israel puts its death toll at 66 soldiers and six civilians, including a Thai worker.

Cardinal Nichols told the Guardian: “I was deeply shocked at the effects of war and endemic poverty...Pope Francis has said there must be an end to war, and when you see the effect in a place like Gaza it reinforces that.”

Source: CCN/The Guardian