Pope: Gaza is at breaking point, immediate aid and release of hostages

New appeal by Francis at the general audience for Israelis and Palestinians to choose peace instead of arms. In the Paul VI Hall the concluding reflection of the cycle of catechesis on apostolic zeal in evangelisation: "Jesus says to every believer and to his Church: open up because the message of the Gospel needs you in order to be witnessed and proclaimed".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – “May the enormous suffering of the Israelis and the Palestinians end. Please: no to weapons, yes to peace!." Pope Francis again urged today with a new appeal, launched at the end of the general audience with the faithful, held today in the Paul VI Hall.

He said: “I am continuing to follow the war in Israel and in Palestine, with great concern. I renew my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. There is much suffering there. I encourage all the parties involved to resume negotiations, and I ask everyone to make an urgent commitment to ensure that humanitarian aid will reach the people of Gaza, who are at the end of their tether and in great need of it..May all the hostages be freed."

Before pronouncing these words - combined as always with the invitation to prayer for peace in Ukraine and in other regions tormented by war - Pope Francis had today concluded his reflections on apostolic zeal in evangelization, which began last January 11th. After presenting a series of profiles of great evangelizers from all over the world and having underlined some characteristics of the mission in recent weeks, the pontiff focused today on the evangelical page in which Jesus heals a deaf mute by pronouncing the word "effatà" over him ( Mc 7,31-37). Francis highlighted the fact that this episode occurred geographically in a region inhabited mainly by pagans.

“The Gospel - the Pope recalled -the Gospel reports Jesus’ decisive word in Aramaic. Ephphatha which means “be open”, may the ears be open, may the tongue be open. And it is an invitation that is addressed not so much to the deaf man, who could not hear him, but precisely to the disciples of that time and of every age. We too, who have received the ephphatha of the Spirit in Baptism, are called to be open. “Be open”, Jesus says to every believer and to his Church: be open because the Gospel message needs you to witness  it and proclaim it!". “Closed Christians - he added - always end up badly, because they are not Christians, they are ideologues, ideologues of closure. A Christian must be open to announcing the Word, to welcoming brothers and sisters."

“Brothers, sisters - concluded Pope Francis - let us all feel called, as baptized people, to witness and proclaim Jesus. And let us ask for the grace, as Church, to bring about a pastoral and missionary conversion. On the banks of the Sea of Galilee, the Lord asked Peter if he loved him and then asked him to tend his sheep (cf. vv. 15-17). Let us too ask ourselves. Let each one of us ask ourselves this question, let us ask ourselves: Do I truly love the Lord to the point of wanting to proclaim him? Do I want to become his witness or am I content to be his disciple? Do I take to heart the people I meet, bringing them to Jesus in prayer? Do I want to do something so that the joy of the Gospel, which has transformed my life, may make their lives more beautiful?”.

• Pope Francis
• general audience
• evangelization
• mission
• Effatà