Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died. He has died on Easter Monday aged 88. On Sunday, Pope Francis had, according to media reports, made his first prolonged public appearance since being discharged on March 23 from a 38-day hospital stay from pneumonia. It is very important to note that before the five-week hospital stay, the Pope had been assailing Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
He was also criticizing Israel for creating in Gaza a humanitarian situation which, according to him, “very serious and shameful”. In this regard, what is more important to note is the fact that Pope Francis was also widely known as a religious leader, who successfully advanced church’s relationship with the Jews. In 2018, he, for example, famously said that “Dialogue and friendship with the children of Israel are part of the life of Jesus’ disciples.” It is, therefore, interesting to note that both Israel and Hamas mourn Pope’s death and speak of his commitment to dialogue.
Last but not least, Al-Jazeera columnist Andrew Mitrovica deserves a lot of praise for his highly informative article titled “The pope is right about Israel and Gaza. This is cruelty, not war” on December 31, 2024. Mitrovica had said, among other things, that “Francis will be remembered, as well, for rebuffing efforts to intimidate or bully him to qualify or retract statements made from “the heart” that Israel is guilty of “cruelty” as it goes methodically about reducing much of Gaza and the West Bank to dust and memory.”
Saleem Bukhari, (Lahore)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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