Cardinal Pizzaballa Warns of the Idolatry of War saying the Holy Land Needs Healing and is the "place where faiths are at home" in New Letter
Cardinal Pizzaballa: Jerusalem Must Heal a Broken World
In a profound lengthy new pastoral letter titled “They returned to Jerusalem with great joy,” the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, addresses the spiritual and social devastation of the ongoing conflict in the Holy Land. Released on April 27, 2026, the letter serves as both a sobering assessment of a "new era" of violence and a roadmap for how Christians can maintain their prophetic witness amidst chaos.
A Global Crisis, Not Just a Local War
Cardinal Pizzaballa describes the events beginning October 7 as a "watershed" moment that ended one era and began another in the most tragic way possible. He argues that the conflict is a symptom of a global paradigm shift, where the international rules-based order has collapsed in favor of "the use of force."
The Idolatry of War: The Patriarch warns that war has become an "idolatrous cult."
The Sin of Abuse: He identifies the use of sacred texts to justify terrorism and occupation as "the gravest sin of our time."
Propaganda vs. Truth: In a world of digital "identity bubbles" and social media algorithms, he notes that hatred and mistrust have poisoned even the most basic human relationships.
The Spiritual Vocation of Jerusalem and the Holy Land
For Pizzaballa, Jerusalem is more than a geopolitical trophy; its "vertical" dimension—as the site of divine revelation—is its true identity. He suggests that previous peace efforts failed because they ignored the spiritual and religious sensitivities of the people who call the city home.
"Jerusalem signifies coexistence and relationship...main identity – the most important characteristic of the city and of the entire Holy Land – is that of being the place of God’s revelation, the place where faiths are at home. "
The Cardinal also reflects candidly on the Church’s role, questioning whether the institution has sometimes chosen "institutional survival" over "prophetic witness" during the crisis.
A "Workshop for New Humanity"
The letter outlines practical pastoral steps to counter the culture of violence:
Education: Schools must be "workshops of a new humanity," teaching children to view history without resentment or the desire for revenge.
The Family: Homes should be places where the past is shared with "sorrow and truth," rather than hatred.
Interreligious Dialogue: Despite the current friction, Pizzaballa insists that dialogue remains a "vital necessity."
The Power of Prayer: He emphasizes the primacy of liturgy and the support of hospitals and social services as tangible places of healing.
The vocation: to heal the world
The City is not an end in itself. Its mission is universal and its vocation is therapeutic.
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the City. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:1-2)
From the throne of God and the Lamb flows a river of living water, and the tree of life, whose leaves “for the healing of the nations” grows on its banks. This is the ultimate and sublime task of Jerusalem. The tree of life, which in Eden was forbidden to humanity, is now in the heart of the City, accessible to all. Its leaves are not for a chosen few, but for the healing of the “nations,” a term in Revelation that often denotes the unbelieving world, those who stand outside and do not yet know God. Divine mercy is not a privilege for a few, but a destiny offered to all.
Jerusalem’s mission is not confined within its walls or closed within its gates. The spring of living water that flows from the heart of the Lamb irrigates the whole world. Jerusalem is an “outlooking” City, called to bear fruit for humanity. What it has received from on high is to be shared with all. It has a specific mission, which is uniquely its own: to “heal the nations.” Heal from what? The text does not specify, because it does not point to a single wound, but to the very root of wounded life. It does say, however, that what heals is its being alive, its participation in the life of God.
Healing will be needed in the Holy Land. Long paths of recovery will be required for the many and very painful wounds this conflict inflicts on all communities. Comfort will be needed for the tribulations caused by hatred and “toxic memory.” The mission of the Church is not to draw narrower borders, but to keep the doors open, witnessing to a love that never gives up and reaches out even to those who are distant, doubtful, or resistant. The responsibility of human freedom is affirmed, but so is the boundlessness of divine Grace.
The Holy Land and the small, vulnerable Christian community living there have much to share. It has no military or economic power but draws from the Lamb the “meekness” of those who, according to the Gospel beatitude, will inherit the earth. It has the power of self-giving love, the only power that evil cannot defeat.
Redeeming the consequences of conflict – hatred, fear, “toxic memory” – is the specific and sublime task of the Jerusalem Church for the whole world. Its roots are in the geography of salvation, but its gaze is universal: to be for the world not a utopia, but the seed of a real city, the city set on the mountain (cf. Mt. 5:14), radiating the light of Christ to all nations, where people learn the art of forgiveness, the power of equality, and the joy of service. Above all, it is the courage of forgiveness that is the most powerful medicine, capable of bringing healing, and it is also the most authentic witness our community can offer to the peoples of this Land.
This is not a matter of acting as a bridge between two conflicting parties, as if Christians were called to mediate from the outside. That is not their role. Christians in the Holy Land are not a third party, nor a neutral buffer between Israelis and Palestinians, nor a separate body from their non-Christian brethren. They are, rather, salt, light, and leaven within the societies to which they rightfully belong. Predominantly Palestinian or Jordanian citizens, Christian Arabs, but also Cypriots and Israelis, Christians share the history, language, wounds, and aspirations of their peoples. They are not called to enclose themselves in a protected enclave, nor to flee, but to live their vocation to the full: to be part and parcel of society, sharing its fortunes, and helping to ferment it from within with a vision of humanity – and society – rooted in the Gospel.
They do not offer the world an abstract utopia, but the seed – fragile, concrete, sometimes almost invisible – of a possible city. A city that rises from below, in the dough of daily life shared with their Muslim and Jewish fellow citizens, and that shows how coexistence, forgiveness, and reconciliation are possible. For everyone
Conclusion: Joy as Resistance
The Patriarch concludes by reminding the faithful that they are not alone. By rejecting the culture of violence and embracing the "joy of the Gospel," he calls on the community to return to their lives with passion. He urges them to let God's dream for Jerusalem—a city of peace and coexistence—become their daily reality.
Source: https://lpj.org/en/news/letter-to-the-diocese
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