Tomorrow the gathering of Roman Catholic cardinals from around the world to pick a new pope gets underway. This conclave may take a couple of days or even weeks, although the longest took three years. The event is shrouded in secrecy and security. I love that pies, sweet or savoury, are not allowed in to feed the cardinals lest they contain information. It's the equivalent of the old file in the cake for prison inmates.
As the church is about to choose a pope more information about the compassion of Pope Francis emerges. Even when he was feeble and very ill during his final days he would phone the lone Roman Catholic parish in Gaza each evening to offer encouragement. He would ask what they had eaten that day and about the bombing. He would offer a blessing "As-salaam Alaikum" or "peace be upon you." On news of his death one of the Gaza Christians observed that they now feel like orphans.
Francis was outspoken about the terrible loss of life in Gaza on a number of occasions, often drawing criticism for doing so. In his Easter message last month, delivered a few hours before his death, he reiterated this message. According to Vatican News:
“I appeal once again,” he said, “for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, for the release of the hostages… and for access to humanitarian aid.” His words once again called on the international community to act and “come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”
Thank God the pontiff was willing to boldly proclaim the resurrection of Jesus as the Christ while recognizing suffering and evil for what it is.
My dismay and outrage deepens at the continuing reports of starvation in Gaza because of the blockade against food and medical aid. Recently an aid ship was bombed and turned away. Now the Israeli government has announced it will step up its military incursion into Gaza in what has all the marks of ethnic cleansing. Our Canadian government has been pathetic in challenging what has unfolded following the horrendous terrorist attack on innocent Israelis by Hamas in October 2O23. The Americans, both under Biden and Trump, have facilitated the destruction.
We have yet to hear and see what will happen under the leadership of Prime Minister Carney and heaven knows what will unfold during his visit to Washington. There are countries in Europe, including Spain and France, that have decried the ongoing destruction in Gaza and the West Bank. Perhaps we can find the moral courage to take a bold stand that reflects values of international law and decency.
The celebrated author, Omar El Akkad, has written a book developed from a tweet where he said: "One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this. This is Gaza"
He also wrote, "This is an account of a fracture, a breaking away from the notion that the polite, western liberal ever stood for anything at all."
Amen and As-salaam Alaikum.
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