Page 98 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

Concluding Observations
This imagined letter of what Pope Francis might have written is loosely based on the themes addressed by his actual letter of 2 February 2024 and is further shaped by seven aspirations as follows.
1. From the heart of a pastor, the letter seeks to acknowledge the grief of Jewish Israelis, with unqualified compassion, empathy and insight, unadulterated by any resort to ‘buts’ and ‘what abouts’. It attempts to articulate the many layers of this grief.
Here, it is helpful to recall Pope Francis’ favoured image of the church as a ‘field hospital’ (Evangelii Gaudium, 76). Engaged in triage, the church knows that the victim of violence is in the first place a human being who requires protection, emergency aid, understanding and consolation. Until the injury is truthfully named and understood, real healing is impeded.
2. The letter acknowledges, but mostly avoids, discussion of wartime conduct and does not prejudge the outcome of such discussions. They have their rightful place, but this is not the forum. As every pastor knows, it is neither possible, nor wise, to say everything, to all, at once.
3. The letter acknowledges the particular bond shared by Christians and Jews. This bond is further reason for a full-voiced response to the pain of the Jewish community. For Christians, Jews are their kin in faith. The Saviour proclaimed by Christians is a Jew. One can imagine the Jewish Jesus responding to October 7 with the heart of a Jew and profound concern for his kin. Does it not follow that Christians should also feel this heartache?
4. The letter names antisemitism and its diabolical path to the Holocaust. It alludes to the newest manifestation of
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