More than two thousand years ago, Bethlehem witnessed the Massacre of the Innocents, when children who had committed no sin were killed and became victims of violence at the hands of one who sought absolute power on earth. One child survived, managing to flee to Egypt thanks to an angel who guided his parents to the path of salvation. On its journey to Egypt, the Holy Family passed through Gaza. If it were to pass there today, it would not recognize the place, nor would it encounter the same hospitable people.
May Almighty God open the eyes of those who do not wish to see, and warm the hearts of those who do not wish—or are prevented from—offering comfort and mercy to those who are dying from cold and hunger. If we have failed to prevent history from repeating itself, may God at least help us to extend a helping hand to the wounded innocents, the victims of this painful history.
The joy that once characterized that geographical area overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the same area that welcomed and saved the Holy Child.
In Gaza, there is no longer a single square meter that does not bear the marks of massive destruction, the result of a one-sided war. In Gaza, people are dying of cold before they die of hunger or disease. And yet, providing warmth to those who are freezing is, instinctively, the first humanitarian duty toward people who have endured the cruelty of cold through successive winters of pain and deprivation. What is preventing tents, blankets, and warm food from entering Gaza? And who is obstructing an organized and urgent humanitarian effort to meet the vital needs of this vast number of impoverished people?
The truce, despite its name, continues to claim lives, as weapons have never stopped tearing through the sky of Gaza. Among the victims recorded after the truce is a shameful number of children who have died from cold and hunger. It is shameful that such shocking figures are known; it is inhuman that this is happening; and it is absurd that we stand by watching with our arms crossed. Do those who decide and shape the fate of humanity not feel the obligation to “clothe the naked and feed the hungry”?
Pope Leo XIV, during the administration of the sacrament of Baptism to children in the Sistine Chapel on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, posed a direct question: “Which of us would leave newborn children without clothing or food, waiting for them to grow up to choose for themselves how to dress and what to eat?” He added: “If food and clothing are necessary for life, then faith is even more necessary, because life with God finds its salvation.”
In Gaza, children do not know what awaits their lives, nor do their fathers and mothers, who sacrifice everything to save their children. The question is therefore addressed to all of us: Which of us allows the innocents to die?
This question finds its answer only in the assurance offered to us by the Holy Father: faith in the Savior, a faith that continues to call us to hope for a humanity that is united in solidarity, loving, and open to the needs of the poor and the innocent.
