Cardinal Filoni: ‘Gaza is on the way to becoming a cemetery’

Cardinal Fernando Filoni (Manduria, Italy; 1946) has served as the grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem since 2019. The church official is also a high-level diplomat for the Holy See, with whose structure and inner workings he is intimately familiar, due to his work as substitute for the Vatican’s Secretary of State under Benedict XVI. He was also the nuncio, or diplomatic representative for the Pope, in Jordan and Iraq, where he would later return as a special envoy during difficult years of the conflict with the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Today, he is keeping a close eye on the conflict in Gaza.

Question. You just came back from Jerusalem and Bethlehem. What did you find and how would you describe the current climate there?

Answer. The situation is dramatic now that, in addition to Gaza and the part of Israel in north that are under attacks, there are many families who don’t know how to survive, and who are currently in an extremely difficult situation.

Q. After the declarations of the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, who referred to Israel’s response to the attack by Hamas as “disproportionate”, we have seen an unprecedented rise in tension with some sectors of Israeli diplomacy. Although the tone has since softened somewhat, how should this diplomatic phase be understood?

A. It’s important to keep in mind that, during tense situations, both sides tend to develop opinions and lean towards one direction or another, whether that’s individuals, governments or institutions. I don’t think that Cardinal Parolin gave a “disproportionate” response [Parolin used the word “carnage” to refer to Israel’s actions], and delivered a calm and serene statement. An incorrect interpretation will only take into account one side. I also believe that diplomacy must learn to exist amid contradictions, and I believe that the Holy See, just like Israeli diplomacy, will understand that it is necessary to avoid polemics in order to adopt a more realistic vision and build relations that seek the common good.

Q. We know that the Pope is extremely concerned about the situation in Gaza and that he regularly connects by videoconference with a Christian church there. How is the Vatican’s diplomacy working on this front?

A. That goes beyond diplomacy, it’s a way of participating in the lives of that population. The Pope is especially sensitive to all those suffering from war. I think that the Vatican’s diplomacy is always open to contributing to peace: Cardinal Parolin has said on various occasions that we are open to contributing our grain of sand. But one has to want peace, work towards it and establish it based on criteria like justice and truth. If that will is lacking, even the most venerable diplomacy will prove impotent. I think that, regarding the tendency to always remain open, those who desire it, whether that be Israel, the Palestinians or any other reality that is in conflict, will benefit from it.

Q. What could be one possibility for a short-term ceasefire, with the potential to be a long-term solution to the conflict? The Pope believes in a two-state solution, how can the Holy See work and provide assistance toward that?

A. An immediate ceasefire is essential. We run the risk of turning it into a cemetery; the reality is, in Gaza there are children, elders, sick people, men and women; right now there is a massive shortage of water and food. A ceasefire means bringing back hope to these people’s lives. And then, there’s the long-term solution. In the long term, one must not stop thinking of the need to establish, as has already been said, a coexistence based on the principles of truth and justice. The truth concerns both Israel and Palestine. And justice must encompass both Israel’s right to exist and live in its land in peace and security, and Palestine’s right to remain in the territories that belong to it, in equal security. The logic of mutual destruction must be renounced. Hamas cannot say that Israel must be destroyed. And Israel cannot demand the destruction of the Palestinian reality; everyone has the right to live in their territory without violent and illegal expropriation.

Q. What would justice mean in this case?

A. Justice would mean recognizing everyone’s rights and renouncing all forms of violence. As head of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, which has shown special attention to the Holy Land since the time of Pope Pius IV (1850), with the knights and dames, members of the order, we work for peace, caring for the lives of the people and supporting, through the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, more than 45 schools, the University of Bethlehem, many poor families and numerous social projects. All this means working concretely, as humble laborers, for peace.

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