US Catholic leaders urge Biden to act for peace and justice in Holy Land

Photo by Emad El Byed on Unsplash

Source: CMEP, Pax Christi USA

Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of San Diego, and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, have joined more than 200 Catholic leaders in a letter to President Biden expressing their "grief and dismay over the horrors that have occurred in Israel/Palestine", calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and an end to the shipment of weapons to Israel.

They also appeal for an end to the illegal settlements and attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

The full letter text follows:

We, Catholics in the United States, express our grief and dismay over the horrors that have occurred in Israel/Palestine over the last six months. We also bear witness to and speak out against the decades of injustice that have plagued the Holy Land.

As Pope Francis has said, "without justice, there is no peace." The inherent dignity of all persons and their right to life is the basis of our concern for all Palestinian and Israeli lives and our hope for a solution in which systemic injustices are addressed and the rights of both peoples granted and upheld.

In May 2024, when this letter is being released, we continue to plead for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and adherence to international law by all parties. 71% of US Catholics support a Gaza ceasefire, echoing the position of Pope Francis, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Society of Jesus, and other US Catholic organizations and leaders.

As of this letter's publication, over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza-- the majority civilians--have been killed by Israel's military assault marked by indiscriminate bombing. We mourn each life lost. Tens of thousands more are severely injured without access to adequate medical care; half of Gazans are facing famine; and most have been displaced from their homes, 70% of which have been destroyed.

We are also deeply concerned about the recent spike in attacks and killings of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and settlers.

We also call for the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, including children and elderly, who were forcibly taken from their homes in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. We mourn for the nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, who were killed and the many others who were brutalized and traumatized during Hamas' attack.

At the same time, we call for the release of all Palestinian political prisoners held unjustly by Israel. As US Catholics, we recognize our country's contribution to the present violence and to the ongoing systemic injustices in Israel-Palestine. We call on President Biden, a fellow Catholic, and other US and international leaders, to do everything possible to ensure a permanent end to hostilities, including halting additional shipments of US-funded offensive weapons to Israel, a return of all hostages, and the immediate distribution of robust humanitarian aid to Gaza.

We acknowledge that we have not paid enough attention to the situation in Israel-Palestine. For many American Catholics, there has been an unspoken feeling that Israel-Palestine is not really our problem-that it is a Jewish-Muslim issue. But this attitude was a mistake.

We cannot forget that Christians, most of whom are Palestinian, are an integral part of the Holy Land. Palestinian Christians have long pleaded that Christians around the world listen to their experiences and support their struggle for full equality and rights.

We are equally concerned about the well-being of Muslims, Jews, and others who suffer in Israel-Palestine. As Catholics, we have a responsibility to oppose any action that threatens human life and dignity, and to be attentive to both Palestinian and Israeli fears and traumas.

We also recommit ourselves to opposing antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab discrimination. Christians have often failed in this regard, both in the past and today. We recognize that even before the current crisis in Gaza, the situation in Israel-Palestine was fundamentally unjust and marred by violence.

Sometimes, those of us in the United States misperceive the Israel-Palestine situation as a conflict of equally matched sides. In reality, though, there is a great power imbalance, with Israel denying many basic rights to stateless Palestinians and governing much of their lives through military occupation and illegal settlements (in the West Bank and East Jerusalem), blockade (in Gaza), and other measures of control. Some of us have had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and see some of these realities firsthand.

We pray that in the land of Israel-Palestine, where seven million Jewish Israelis and seven million Palestinians live, a political solution can be achieved which ensures justice, equality, peace, security, and freedom for two peoples.

Guided by our faith, the signs of the times, and our personal capabilities, we Catholics are called to pray, speak, and work for peace. As the people of God, the Church, we join together in the hope that the land where Jesus lived, died, and rose will one day see an end to bloodshed and know true justice and reconciliation.

Read the letter with initial list of signatories: https://cmep.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Sign-On-Letter-from-U.S.-Catholics-on-Israel-Palestine-May-2024.pdf