A Pope's unrealistic call for 'peace'

 Federalist:

The day after Hamas’ onslaught against Israel, Pope Francis intoned: “Every war is a defeat.” A preemptive protest against retaliation, it contradicted centuries of the Catholic Church’s understanding of a just response to aggression. The ancient command to will good to all men does not mean leaving some of them loose to do evil to others.

Careful not to name Hamas, Francis begged that “the armed attacks stop.” His use of the plural “attacks” placed terrorists and Israelis on the same moral plane. It avoided distinction between a war of extermination against Jews and Israel’s defensive action against genocidal barbarians. Francis broadened lament to conflicts everywhere (especially in “beloved Ukraine”), and added: “Let us pray that there be peace in Israel and Palestine.”

America magazine, the Jesuits’ flagship magazine, flattered Francis’ evasion as “a measured appeal.” Papal reluctance to identify a clear aggressor sets the tenor of reaction down the chain of command to bishoprics and parishes.

My own neighborhood parishes have been calling for prayers for peace between Israel and Palestine since Oct. 7. The object of this urging is the chimera of peace in general. Hamas is not named. The words “depravity” and “Jew-hatred” go unspoken. Congregants are shepherded away from any impulse to pray for Israelis to win against their tormenters. Pressure is on against choosing sides.

Victory is the one resolution that Western media and the “international community” will not tolerate. Neither will Francis. His “measured appeal” applies the tactic of “accompaniment” to geopolitical issues. Accompaniment is Francis’ pretext for withholding judgment on moral issues. Here, it provides a hedge that hints at moral equivalence between Israel and Gaza without the risk of saying so.

Whether constrained by temperament or policy, my own pastor — a sensitive and eloquent man — came as close as he dared to acknowledging the truth of things. It was not close enough.
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It helps to look at their higher-ups, men who rose in a clerical bureaucracy that leans left. At this moment, the spotlight belongs on Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Francis made him Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem three years ago. He received his red hat on Sept. 30, less than a month ago. That was just in time to insinuate sympathy for the homicidal Gazans.

His Excellency described the Gaza Strip as “an open-air prison,” a catchphrase from the alternative universe of leftist grievances. He spoke of “occupied territories,” the reigning term of abuse against Israel as a colonial oppressor. Trumpeted successfully by Yasir Arafat and the Palestinian Authority (PA), the term does not square with history.

Palestinian resentment of Israel’s existence precedes Israel’s presence in Gaza. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed in 1964 — three years before Israel won legitimate control of the West Bank and Gaza defending itself in the Six Day War of 1967. The PLO’s declared purpose was to eliminate Israel by means of armed struggle. Moreover, Israel removed itself — settlements and military installations — in 2005. If Gaza can be called a colony, its elected colonizer is Hamas.
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A people who do not want to be destroyed or have a religion imposed on them will ignore such an unrealistic call for peace.  It is a non starter for those fighting an attempt at extinction.