Filipino bishop appeals for peace in Israel: ‘Move from indifference to compassion’

A Filipino bishop centered his message for Corpus Christi Sunday on his appeal for peace in Israel, emphasizing the urgent need to disregard indifference and embrace compassion.

“Peace is not merely the absence of war, but the active pursuit of justice rooted in human dignity,” said San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza.

In his pastoral letter on June 22, he lamented how the Jewish people, whom he described as “a people who carry the memory of the Holocaust,” turn a blind eye to the violent consequences of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“How can those who know the pain of being hated now justify hatred toward others? How can the trauma of past suffering become the rationale for present-day cruelty?” said the prelate.

Alminaza said that the only way to end the conflict rests not just in the hands of politicians, superpowers, or international bodies, but “with the Jewish people themselves.”

“Only they – rooted in a spiritual heritage of covenant, mercy, and righteousness – can declare: ‘Not in our name.’ Only they can demand that their state no longer build its security on the ruins of another people’s dignity,” said the prelate.

The bishop stressed how Jesus, through the Holy Eucharist, compels the faithful toward solidarity.

“In every Eucharist, we are bound not only to Christ, but to one another—as one human family… The real presence of Christ must awaken in us a real presence to the suffering of our brothers and sisters,” he wrote.

Furthermore, Alminaza stressed how true peace cannot come without justice.

“True rest will not be found through domination. And true security is born not from walls and weapons, but from mercy and the memory of shared humanity,” said the prelate.