World leaders must not lose sight of the humanity of people, lest they fall into barbarism, Archbishop Charles Scicluna said on Sunday, in a condemnation of all killing happening in Israel and Palestine.
Scicluna gave the homily during Remembrance Day mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral and said that while it is a duty to keep remembering the fallen of past conflicts, it is important to remember those who are dying in ongoing ones.
As of August, he said, half a million people have lost their lives to the war in Ukraine.
It would also be impossible to speak of lives lost due to man-made conflict without speaking about what is happening in Gaza, he added.
“We condemn those who caused the loss of 1,400 Israeli lives, but we must also condemn those causing the death of 10,000 Palestinians, some 4,000 of them who were children and babies,” Scicluna said.
“Can you tell me by what wisdom someone can decide that 4,000 babies were terrorists? How can anyone say this with a straight face?” he continued.
“When we lose our sense of humanity and proportionality, we fall into the foolishness that God condemns and that we will be held accountable for.”
Recalling Sunday’s homily, which features the parable of the 10 wise and foolish bridesmaids, Scicluna said that being wise is understanding the dignity of all people and that falling into foolishness reaps not only trouble but will be “a curse on our children and all humanity”.
Citing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on scripture to justify not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Scicluna said that no person is authorised to forget the humanity of others.
“Whoever you are and however righteous your cause may be, there is proportionality, there is justice and there are the demands of humanity, otherwise, we fall victim to barbarism,” he said.
“We are living through a spectacle of a lack of humanity and barbarism and the tragedy is that those who have the power to stop this war, those who have a veto in the UN Security Council are not doing their duty.”
He concluded that all must strive to do their duty to end foolishness and choose wisdom.
“Those who choose war instead of politics are reaping the curse of death,” he said.
Mass was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the war dead.
Photo: Matthew Mirabelli
Photo: Matthew Mirabelli
Photo: Matthew Mirabelli