As U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Gulf Arab countries, ending May 16, brought "the largest defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done, according to the White House fact sheet, Catholic leadership in the region expressed its concern to resolve long-standing conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, peacefully.
While anchored in the hope that comes from Jesus' resurrection, Catholics should not forget the "tears, despair and destruction everywhere" they have seen in images from the Middle East, a top Vatican official said.
The negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the first release of hostages to begin Jan. 19 are seen as an "encouraging sign of peace," said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.
The head of a Catholic humanitarian agency in Lebanon told OSV News the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire appears to be intact, as he and his team vow to assist those displaced by the conflict "wherever they settle."
Pope Francis called again for "an immediate cease-fire on all fronts" in the Middle East, urging leaders to "pursue the paths of diplomacy and dialogue to achieve peace."
When considering the Catholic belief of the Eucharist as a sacred mystery, many Muslims could find common ground within their own faith, said Bob Brenneman, a professor and former evangelical pastor who spent 15 years sharing the Gospel with Muslims in the Middle East before becoming Catholic.
As the Israel-Hamas war expands into Lebanon, an agency of the Holy See has launched an emergency campaign to assist thousands of displaced families in that nation's south.
Catholic Church leaders in the Middle East condemned a second wave of explosions of hand-held devices across Lebanon and in the capital, Beirut, apparently targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
With the approaching one-year mark of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, spurred by the Hamas attack on southern Israeli agricultural communities Oct. 7, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem urged the warring sides to "reach a rapid agreement" for a cease-fire.
"May the Lord always give you the strength to witness faith in him, including through respectful and sincere dialogue with everyone," the pope told members of the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions Aug. 28 during their plenary meeting in Rome.
