“As Catholics in the Holy Land who share Pope Francis’ vision for a peaceful world, we are outraged that political actors in Israel and abroad are mobilizing the theory of ‘just war’ in order to perpetuate and legitimate the ongoing war in Gaza,” the statement reads.
“This theory is being used in a way in which it was never intended: to justify the death of tens of thousands, our friends and our neighbors.”
The statement argued that in the case of Israel’s war in Gaza, it is clear that negotiations have not been exhausted before the use of force, among other issues.
“There are those pretending that the war follows the rules of ‘proportionality’ by arguing that a war that continues until the bitter end might save the lives of Israelis in the future, therefore balancing the scales of the thousands of Palestinian lives being lost in the present,” they said.
“In doing so, they privilege the security of hypothetical people in the future over the lives of living and breathing human beings who are being killed every day,” the Catholic leaders continued.
“It is in a spirit of hope that we cannot allow words like ‘just’ to be mobilized to justify what is unjust, cruel, and devastating. We must argue for the integrity of language, because we remain convinced that true justice is still possible if we can hold fast to its promise.”
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