Church condemns antisemitic attacks

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, together with other bishops, have appealed against antisemitic attacks:

“We cannot remain silent when we witness our brothers and sisters suffering on account of being Jewish, and we will never tire of our commitment to decry every form of hatred, especially those formed in contempt of faith.

“Any attack on the basis of faith or otherwise is contrary to who we are called to be as the People of God. Pope Francis reminds us of our duty to build a culture of encounter by building bridges that transcend differences. In doing so, we must denounce violence unconditionally and take up dialogue.”

Peace and hunger

At the Vatican’s 3rd webinar ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit, Cardinal Peter Turkson said: “The peace of the world depends on how we deal with hunger.” He gave worrying statistics about hunger in the world: over 60m people became food insecure in 2019; 130m more people were undernourished in 2020, compared to 2019; around 840m will face hunger by 2030.

Trinity and love

Last Sunday Pope Francis spoke about the Blessed Trinity: “This speaks to our heart because we find it encompassed in that expression of St John which sum­marises all of Revelation: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16). The Father is love; the Son is love; the Holy Spirit is love. God is not solitude but communion, among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Because love is essentially a gift of self, and it is the Father who gives himself by generating his Son, who in turn gives himself to the Father, and their mutual love is the Holy Spirit, the bond of their unity. Today’s celebration makes us contemplate this marvellous mys­tery of love and of light from which we come and towards which our journey is guided.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)