Page 107 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

be allowed to occur. Never again would we abandon Jews to forces that sought to destroy them. So we said.
Yet, in the days that followed October 7, as the news of the massacre, rapes, torture, mutilations and kidnappings came to light, and as Jew-hatred quickly erupted in one country after another, too many Catholics appeared to be strangely unmoved by Jewish suffering. Silence, passivity and muted statements took the place of any hoped-for united, full-throated voice of global protest by the Catholic Church.
Inevitably, there will always be a diversity of views about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, about the conduct of war and about the decisions of politicians and leaders. There should most certainly be compassion and concern for people suffering in Gaza, which includes Catholic brothers and sisters.
Yet none of this explains why, in the face of unspeakable acts of brutality, Catholics refrained from presenting a clear, united front of compassionate support for Jews and Israelis. None of it explains why, as antisemitic incidents erupted around the world, too few Catholic leaders rallied their communities to champion the teaching of Nostra Aetate as it faced its most robust test since the Holocaust.
This is the chilling truth that the Catholic faithful take with them as they enter the liturgical rhythms of Holy Week and Easter and ponder sacred stories saturated with Jewish figures, Jewish roots and Jewish references. There are post– October 7 sins of omission to be owned and difficult questions to be asked. As a worldwide community of believers, why did Catholics not hold their present-day Jewish brothers and sisters in a protective, consoling embrace as they mourned the slaughter of their people, the destruction of their homes, their slow-death separation from loved ones taken hostage, and the killing of their dreams for peace? Yes, some helpful statements
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