Statement from Bishop David Zubik on day of prayer for peace in the Holy Land

On Monday, October 7, 2024, we mark the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war. I am asking all people of faith to pray and fast for a just peace that includes the return of all hostages and for a commitment to end the bloody cycles of revenge. Pope Francis and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, have asked for this day of prayer, fasting and penance.
 
This conflict has unleashed a demonic rise in both anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim expressions in our own nation, including in the Pittsburgh region. All people are beloved children of God, and we must pray for those who suffer violence and persecution, for perpetrators of such acts and for the cleansing of our own hearts from any hostility toward those who are different from us.
 
In the weeks before the current escalation of this war there were real hopes for a ceasefire. We pray fervently that the spiritual and political forces behind that hope will prevail.
As I said in my statement of October 1, 2024, “We must pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for the flourishing of Lebanon and for people with old enmities to discover compassion and help each other along the road to true and lasting peace.”