Pope Francis on Monday called Gaza
parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli to express his closeness
to the small local Christian community, Catholic news agency SIR
reported on Tuesday.
"Yesterday I spoke to Pope Francis who expressed his closeness
and his prayers for the entire Church community in Gaza and for
all the parishioners and inhabitants," Romanelli told SIR.
He serves at the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip,
dedicated to the Holy Family, but is currently stranded in the
West Bank city of Bethlehem.
"I thanked the pope for the appeal he made last Sunday at the
Angelus for peace in Israel and Palestine," Romanelli continued.
"Pope Francis imparted his blessing so that all may feel his
closeness," he said.
His church in Gaza is currently hosting 130 forcibly displaced
people and others have found shelter in other parish facilities
nearby.
"The bombing is continuous and harsh," said Romanelli, reporting
his parishioners' accounts.
"Fears of a ground invasion are growing," he added.
Photo: Pope Francis during the Angelus prayer on Sunday during
which he called for an end to hostilities between Israel and
Palestine.
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