«We asked ourselves what we could do in the face of the dramatic events in Israel and Palestine. Our response lies in prayer and in promoting reconciliation in all ways, inspired by the Gospel of peace.” The reflection of the director Father Gianni Criveller, PIME missionary
In the Acts of the Apostles (we are in chapter eight), the deacon Philip leaves Jerusalem because Jesus’ disciples are in danger: Stephen has been killed and Saul enters the homes of believers to drag them to prison. An angel says to Philip: «Get up and go towards the south, on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza; it is deserted.”
Gaza is mentioned few times in the Bible, but in recent weeks it continually bounces back into our thoughts, prayers and anxieties. Not only the road to Gaza, but the city itself has become deserted of humanity, taste buds of homes and hospitals, and of the families and sick people who live there.
From the first images of the horrific violence against Israeli citizens and the response of the Israeli army we asked ourselves: What can we at the PIME missionary center in Milan do? We weren’t prepared. As much as we are alerted to the numerous low or high intensity conflicts, the violence that exploded again in the land of Jesus (who was a Jew who lived in Palestine, and therefore inseparable from the roots and history of both peoples) has devastated us with its cruelty. So what to do?
In the meantime, we continue, with more conscious inner adhesion, what we started last October 4th, the day of Saint Francis, in the church of San Francesco Saverio (via Monte Rosa 81). Every Wednesday at 12.35 pm we celebrate a Mass for peace. It is a sign, modest certainly, but eloquent. An increasing number of people join us, in presence or in heart. This is our message: al Pime Center we pray for peace. We will always do it, regularly, every week: we have promised to continue to narrate the Gospel of peace to the city of Milan and to the world.
I believe that prayer is sincere only if it is active, accompanied by the generous fulfillment of its task. What is our mission in this situation? We are certainly not interested in starting debates and demonstrations to discuss our political preferences. Debates that after twenty seconds become clashes, in which the contenders pursue the most brilliant arguments to prevail, smugly, over the others. Pleased to be right while children, young people, women and men – Palestinians and Israelis, and not only – are killed in their homes, in the streets and in hospitals. We leave debates like this to the television or the keyboard lions of the internet. Let us not fall into the temptation of being overwhelmed by hatred; we do not adhere to the violent, extreme and fanatical positions of those who want the annihilation of the other side. We do not condone violence.
We painfully accept the sense of helplessness in the face of so much death and devastation. But this does not mean that we will shy away from prayer and hard work. I believe we need to continue doing what we do and with greater awareness. Our mission is that of peace education. The agency Asianews, magazine World and Mission, videos and sites, newsletters, social networks and the library daily report content and material that help us to know, understand and interpret what is happening. Contents informed by the thought of one coexistence and reconciliation which – however tiring and bordering on impossible in these circumstances – remains the only one capable of building a future for these two peoples. And it’s not just us who say it: even in the Holy Land once again scarred, even among today’s rubble, there are those who are trying to make it happen, despite everything. We support the right to life, security, defense and self-determination. We condemn injustice and violence, inspired by the Gospel of peace and non-violenceto the appeals of the Pope and the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
We will continue to promote intercultural content, dialogue, knowledge and mutual acceptance in schools and groups thanks to global trainers; in the Time Out initiative (an after-school program in which girls and boys of different national and religious backgrounds are looked after by our educators); in the initiatives of the theatre, museum, library and bookshop, and on any other occasion.
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, paraphrasing Psalm 87, reminded us that we were all born in Jerusalem, whose name means, precisely, city of peace. The fate of this city and this land affects us all, profoundly. Let there be peace on Jerusalem. Let there be peace on Gaza. Let there be peace on Palestine, let there be peace on Israel.