Madonna has called on Pope Leo to go to Gaza and “bring your light to the children”.
“Most Holy Father, Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late,” the American singer wrote in an Instagram post on Monday evening.
She added that as a mother, she could not bear
to watch their suffering.
“The children of the world belong to everyone,” the pop superstar said.
“You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.”
Last month, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, made a rare visit to Gaza alongside Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem.
The visit was made days after an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City - the last Catholic church in the enclave - killed three Palestinians and wounded several others.
Pope Leo’s initial response to the attack, which acknowledged the loss of life but did not name Israel as the attacker, drew backlash [...]
Who are Middle East Eye? Middle East Eye (MEE) is a United Kingdom-based media website and channel that primarily focuses on news related to the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader Muslim world.Where is Palestine? Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Israel, and in some definitions, some parts of western Jordan. The name was used by ancient Greek writers, and it was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine
Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the territory claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land or Promised Land. Historically, it has been known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham, and the Levant. Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria and Arabia, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics.
What is Catholic? The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church. This is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide, as of 2016. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of
Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within Rome, Italy. Catholic theology is based on the Nicene Creed.
Where is Gaza? Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Israel, and in some definitions, some parts of western Jordan. The name was used by ancient Greek writers, and it was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine
Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the territory claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land or Promised Land. Historically, it has been known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham, and the Levant. Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria and Arabia, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics.
Who is the Pope? The pope, or supreme pontiff is the Bishop of Rome and therefore ex officio the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The primacy of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus is said to have given the Keys of Heaven and the powers
of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built. Since the 1860s, the pope has also been head of state of Vatican City, a city-state entirely enclaved within Rome, Italy. The current pope is Pope Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI.
What is Sin? In Abrahamic contexts, sin is the act of violating God's will. Sin can also be viewed as anything that violates the ideal relationship between an individual and God; or as any diversion from the ideal order for human living. To sin has been defined as "to miss the mark".
Sins fall in a spectrum
from minor errors to deadly misdeeds. Catholicism regards the least corrupt sins as venial sins which are part of human living and carry immediate consequences on earth, and, if unrepented for, more painful purgation, assuming the person is destined to heaven, as it is written in the formation letter "Purgatory", "most of the early Fathers of the Church speak of a cleansing fire, though we cannot tell whether this means actual or spiritual fire."
Conversely, sins of great evil are mortal sins which bring the consequence of hell if they are not addressed either through an act of perfect contrition or going to confession about them.