Page 93 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

expressed in the Hebrew title of a document presented to me by a delegation from the World Jewish Congress whom I welcomed in Rome on 19 October 2023. It is true that the church recognises its permanent bond to the ‘stock of Abraham’, notably through a shared scripture and spiritual heritage. Further, the church embraces God’s enduring love for and fidelity to the Jewish people. The Second Vatican Council made this clear in its declaration Nostra Aetate (1965). I firmly reiterate what my predecessors have repeatedly stated, that ‘the relationship that binds us to you is particular and singular’.7
I See and Hear the Anguish of Israelis: Every Day Is October 7
I want you to know that, as a brother whose tradition is intimately bound up with the story of the Jewish people, past and present, I hear your grief and sorrow. I understand that October 7 was not just a day, but a reactivated trauma that continues in the anguish, wounds and ongoing suffering of your families who bury their dead, who seek the return of children and parents taken hostage; of those who bear horrific injuries, physical and psychological; of those who have lost their homes, and many their livelihoods, since October 7. More still have lost hope in aspirations for peace and now live daily with a rekindled level of fear for the safety of their families.
I Call for a United Global Voice Condemning Antisemitism
From the moment that the October 7 massacre came to light, divisive and even toxic attitudes in public opinion were unleashed worldwide, including those that take the form of anti-Judaism and antisemitism. That expressions of Jew-hatred, including celebratory responses to the massacre,
7 Francis, Letter of the Holy Father Francis to Jewish Brothers and Sisters in Israel, 2 February 2024. 93