Pretoria, Sheila Pires – The Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa have condemned the Israeli military assault on the Holy Family Catholic Church compound in Gaza, calling it part of a wider campaign of “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
In a statement issued on July 18 and signed by Cardinal Stephen Brislin, President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), the prelates said they were “distraught to learn of the killings, injuries and wanton destruction” caused by the Israeli Defence Force.
“We condemn this attack against the tiny Christian population in the land which we hold so dear, and we condemn the ongoing violence in the area in the strongest terms,” the statement said.
While recalling the October 2023 Hamas-led massacre, the bishops described Israel’s response as “exceedingly disproportionate” and “contrary to the Human Rights Convention and Protocol for Peace and the Conduct of War.”
They voiced their support for the South African government’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, saying:
“The response to the massacre is now widely acknowledged across the world as genocide and ethnic cleansing. We share that assessment.”
The SACBC also criticised nations supplying weapons to the region, warning that they had “made themselves complicit in what history will surely record as a ‘crime against humanity’.”
Quoting from the parable of the Good Samaritan, the bishops urged Christians and people of goodwill not to turn away from the suffering of others.
“If we remain silent now in the face of this ongoing violence, amidst the reality of the theft of land and houses and olive groves, then we will be no better than those who crossed over to the other side,” they warned.
The statement reiterated Pope Francis’ call for a halt to arms manufacturing and exports to theatres of war. It also joined Pope Leo XIV in calling for “a lasting ceasefire and the release of hostages — including those in administrative detention.”
“We realise only too well that our prayers and solidarity have to be matched by actions,” the bishops added.
They called for “nonviolent action, for boycotts in several spheres, protest action and denunciation of the spread of war across the Middle East,” describing it as “one of the last acts of solidarity open to us.”
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