Peace at long last! Global communities who have worked so hard for peace in Gaza and Israel can at least breathe a sigh of relief for now. Peace comes with a huge cost! Already the cost has been massive – the loss of so many lives of women, children and men caught up in this war. Both peoples wear the scars and trauma of its impact on their communities that will haunt them for future generations.

How can we even gain an insight into what this means, to enter into peace after so much damage and destruction of people’s lives, their homes, their communities and their stability? To live in the anxiety of never knowing when the next attack of rockets, drones and warfare would shatter their lives yet again is incomprehensible. Yet we know throughout this time there have been voices that spoke out imploring, begging for a peaceful resolution. Pope Francis understood from the outset that bearing witness to human suffering and misery on an almost incomprehensible scale requires a response, that silence, under the awful prevailing circumstances means, at the least, blithe acceptance and, at the worst, conscious complicity.

His outspoken statements delivered often at his Angelus prayers on Wednesdays and at his Sunday catechesis were tangible evidence that he did not intend to forsake Palestinians. Weekly he would phone Fr Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of Gaza City’s Catholics to ask his friend how they were managing and what help was needed: “think[ing] of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation.” Pope Francis also repeatedly advocated for the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and on numerous occasions met with freed hostages and families of hostages. He stayed in constant contact with longtime friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka, who has said, “Our dialogue went on, even in those terrible days and circumstances, and we tried to understand and to work together”. Before Pope Francis’ death his thoughts in his final days turned to this particular “terrible conflict” with an “appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!” His prayers and interventions have been heard as a grace emanating from his dying wish.

Amplifying the voice of Pope Francis, Pope Leo continued to make a "strong appeal" to the global community to end the nearly two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas, calling for a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages held in Gaza and the provision of humanitarian aid. We do not know what impact these courageous words of our two Popes have had on the conflict however it testifies to a faith that sees beyond warring factions and bloodshed to a day when “swords will be turned into ploughshares and sears into pruning hooks” and our prayer today that “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). As hostages, prisoners and those killed in this conflict are repatriated to Isreal and Palestine there will be overwhelming emotion in what unfolds.

Commenting only days ago on the peace plan, Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said, "The end of war does not necessarily mark the beginning of peace, but it is the first essential step toward building it. We have a long road ahead to rebuild trust among ourselves, to make hope tangible, and to free ourselves from the hatred of these years. But we will strive for this, together with the many men and women here who still believe it is possible to imagine a different future". He sees the important role of the Church in the days ahead: “… the Church is called on to "speak a word of hope, to have the courage to offer a narrative that opens horizons and builds rather than destroys.” That narrative is of course one that “will help us remain steadfast in the Gospel.”

Such loss is incomprehensible to those of us who have not endured such suffering of war and conflict. Yet into the grieving of these people’s lives in the war-torn areas has been the presence of Consecrated women and men offering their compassionate care, balming the wounds of the suffering Christ in front of them. As humanitarian aid makes its way into these desperate places, we know that our Religious Sisters and Brothers will be there. May we reach out to them and walk with them in whatever practical ways we can to assist them as they bathe the wounds of division and hatred by showing a Heart of Divine Love.

Br Gerard Brady CFC,

President, Catholic Religious Australia.