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IN WHAT WAS his final public appearance, Pope Francis called for an end to the “deplorable humanitarian situation’ in Gaza.
Yesterday, Francis appeared from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica during Easter Sunday Mass.
His Urbi et Orbi (‘to the city [of Rome] and to the world’) remarks were read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations.
Francis was too ill to read the address himself, but did briefly greet the faithful and said: “Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter.”
In the Easter Sunday address, Francis expressed hope that the “light of peace would radiate throughout the Holy Land and the entire world”.
“I express my closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel, and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.”
While Francis expressed concern at the “growing climate of antisemitism throughout the world”, he further remarked that his thoughts were with the people of Gaza.
“The terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation,” said Francis.
“I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas today described Francis as a friend of Palestinians.
“Today, we lost a faithful friend of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights,” Abbas said, adding that Francis “recognised the Palestinian state and authorised the Palestinian flag to be raised in the Vatican”.
Bassem Naim, a senior official from Hamas, the Islamist militant group which runs Gaza, hailed the pope’s opposition to the 18-month-long war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“Pope Francis was a steadfast advocate for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly in his unwavering stance against the war and acts of genocide perpetrated against our people in Gaza in recent months,” Naim said in a statement.
In a statement paying tribute to Francis, Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said his “voice in condemning Israeli brutality was loud and clear until the very last moment”.
Aboul Gheit also recalled “his daily communication with the residents of Gaza as they endured brutal Israeli aggression and bombardment, through hundreds of direct calls over the past months”.
Since October 9, 2023, two days after the bombings began in Gaza, Francis had been in daily contact with the Holy Family Church, bar a few days due to his hospitalisation.
The Holy Family Church is Gaza’s only Catholic parish and in February, it thanked Francis for continuing to contact them despite his hospitalisation.
The parish is located in the northern part of Gaza City and the nightly calls took place via WhatsApp at 8pm local time in Gaza.
In a video posted to social media in late February, parishioners and parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli stood before the altar of their church to thank Francis for his support.
Like Francis, Father Romanelli is from Argentinia.
“It is very, very cold, but we want to express our gratitude, our closeness, and our prayers,” said Fr Romanelli in the video.
Vatican News previously described the nightly calls as a way for Francis to stay connected with the parish community, where over 600 people are sheltered, both Christians and Muslims, within its church and school.
It was during a weekly general audience in January when Francis revealed he daily called the parish in Gaza.
At the end of the general audience on 22 January, a few days after a ceasefire in Gaza began, Francis said: “Yesterday I called – I do it every day – the parish in Gaza. There are 600 people there, it’s a very courageous parish.
“And they told me, ‘Today we had lentils with chicken.’ Something they were not used to doing in these times. They were happy.”
He added that “war is always a defeat”.
That night, the Vatican released a video of Francis speaking to the parish in Gaza on a video call.
“We want to thank you and we will pray for you,” Egyptian-born Father Yusuf Asad told Francis in that video call.
In January, Francis released his memoir Hope: The Autobiography.
It was the first memoir by a sitting pope and was originally meant to be released after his death.
In it, he described the Hamas massacres of 7 October, 2023 as “diabolical and brutal”.
“I too lost Argentinian friends in that carnage, a double grief, people I had known for years, who lived in a kibbutz on the border with Gaza,” said Francis.
But he said that “added to that barbarity, there was another immense barbarity, through Israeli raids, tens of thousands of innocent deaths, mostly women and children, hundreds of thousands evacuated, homes destroyed, people on the brink of starvation”.
“Others too were killed in cold blood in the parish precincts,” said Francis. “This too is terrorism.”
The Vatican recognises the State of Palestine and in February, the Holy See’s Secretary of State hit out at US president Donald Trump’s remarks that Palestinians would have no right of return to Gaza under his takeover plan.
“This is one of the fundamental points of the Holy See: no deportations,” Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said on the sidelines of an Italy-Vatican meeting.
“The solution in our opinion is that of two states because this also means giving hope to the population,” he added.
Meanwhile, Palestinian artisans created last year’s “Nativity of Bethlehem” which was displayed in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
Representatives from the Embassy of the State of Palestine were present for its inauguration on 7 December, as were those who created the Nativity.
The wooden figurine of the baby Jesus was swaddled in a keffiyeh and Francis spent some time praying before it.
As is customary, the figurine of Jesus was then removed from the Nativity scene until Christmas Eve.
However, when the public was next able to view the Nativity scene in the Paul VI Hall on 4 January, the keffiyeh had been removed.
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5 years sober on the 29th of December best decision I ever made enough was enough
@Damien Barton: Judging on your comments you’re a dry drunk
@Perlum Sprite: judging on your comments you are a pain in the ass know it all who thinks he has the answers to everyone’s problems have a look at your pal before you go talking shite
@Damien Barton: yourself
@Damien Barton: Youre just right, alcohol, for the sake of killing a few hours boredom or enhancing a weekend, does nothing of the sort in the long run, it just continues to damage people physically and mentally.
Cannabis should be legalised, and be widely available. Much less damaging than alcohol.
And it’s not addictive, contrary to the nonsense peddled by politicians and the media.
@Pius Flynn: in the last 15 years my son has taken home about € 100k in wages. He doesn’t drink lives at home and hasn’t got any responsibilities. Bo car etc nothing that costs money. And yet every Monday he is looking to borrow € 30 from me because he spent every penny of his wages on weed. And it’s not addictive…….. Bollox
@Alan Dignam: if I was taking home €6,700 a year in wages I’d be looking for an extra 30 quid a week too.
@Pius Flynn: Yeah Man, sound. I love my psychosis. Yeah sound…
@Gerry Cummins: He’s earned 100k over 15 years is what I think he’s saying! So minimum wage!
@Pius Flynn: sorry to be a prude it’s highly addictive
@Alan Dignam: you must not have told him to go get facked if he keeps coming back every Monday for last 15 years next time he come give him a kick up the ass
@Alan Dignam: He is in the wrong job.
@richard fennessy: you are totally wrong, some people can become dependent on it but not addicted.
@Pius Flynn: is there a difference.they are all just lower level junkies.
@Cian Martin: I was being conservative. It is probably more like 150.00 K
@Damien Barton: So you want me to make him homeless as well ???
@Alan Dignam: cannabis definitely has more benefits than booze, sadly drinking is in Ireland’s culture it’s disgusting, if every serious alcoholic was pushed towards cannabis the world would be a better off place, in the States cannabis is keeping down violence in the getthos but promoting it when it comes to the commerce side, we need to take out the profit, if someone wants to use cannabis nobody should stop the growing it themselves
@Alan Dignam: He is not smoking weed spending that much thats for sure. If anybody could smoke that much they would never be able to move they would be so stoned. Maybe its something else instead
@Seriously stunned: yeah in the same way coffee and tea drinkers are on that chart too
@Seriously stunned: addiction is something that negativity impacts your life. Being dependant on a coffee in the morning isn’t much of an addiction would you say? Neither is a J after a long day of work. Guarantee you’ve never tried it too.
@Pius Flynn: Same thing, same thing. If youre are dependent, then youre addicted!
AA is great, but it’s too easy to get labelled an alcoholic when you may just be a hard drinker.
To be clear, to be an alcoholic you must be addicted to alcohol, if you are not addicted you are not an addict – though you may suffer all of the same problems like relationship breakdowns, job loss, depression etc.
@Perlum Sprite: that’s a load of rubbish.
@Dara O’Brien: what exactly do you take issue with?
@Perlum Sprite: ya… I think you are splitting hairs there. Alcoholism comes in different forms, you may not drink every day but if you go out the weekend and go too far everytime then you have an issue with it. If you then have the same problems you mentioned like job loss etc. Then the label is not what you should be worried about. That’s just a word made up by man to put a name on someone for description. If you are a wreck when you drink but are not physically addicted and you need to tell yourself that is OK because I am not addicted, then you are only fooling yourself really.
@Fandandi: no, I’m not splitting hairs – it’s vital to understand the difference. If you believe you’re an alcoholic when you are not, it can be very damaging to you. A hard drinker can learn to stop or moderate over time, and they can do so unaided. an alcoholic will likely die from drink related illnesses.
@Gerry Cummins: my logic is of someone with 21 years of AA membership behind me and 15 years of research into addiction, particularly alcoholism.
There’s a book used by AA known as the AA bible, or ‘big book’. Its read out at the start of every meeting. It’s widely recognised as one if the three most authoritative documents ever written on alcoholism. In it states, “there are too a certain kind of hard drinker, he may have had the habit badly enough at some point in his life to impair him both mentally and physically, but he’s not s real alcholic for he can learn to stop or moderate on his own”.
I know the basics, seems you and Dara dob’t though.
@Perlum Sprite: ah, ok so you’re saying that if you turn into a drunken mess every time you drink and if you harm all relationships around you every time you drink and if you lose jobs and family every time you drink but you quit drinking yourself then you’re not an alcoholic, just a ‘hard drinker’?
Like I said. Rubbish.
@Dara O’Brien: yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. To be an addict you must be addicted, right? It’s in the name. If I go out and take magic mushrooms tonight and end up in a right state, as you’ve just described, does that make me an addict? Of course not. It makes me someone who can’t handle it, but unless I have an overpowering craving for it, I’m not addicted. I can walk away, whereas an addict will be back out looking for more within hours or days.
It’s very simple, you’ve got to be addicted to be an addict, but it’s perfectly possible to suffer all the same consequences as an active alcoholic by drinking hard, regularly.
Lots of people in their 20’s and early 30’s end up in serious situations through excessive drinking – yet they settle down and learn to drink normally.
@Perlum Sprite: no such thing as black and white broaden your horizons
@richard fennessy: That’s a stupid, pointless comment. If you’ve something to add, add it.
@Perlum Sprite: wrong an alcoholic is some one who can’t stop drinking
@Perlum Sprite: and ya still haven’t a clue
@Damien Barton: and why can they not? Because they are addicted. And btw, some alcoholics, about 10%, stop and never set foot in an AA room, treatment centre or see a counsellor, they instead throw themselves into something else to replace it, often religion.
If a true alcholic stays sober for years, and then falls off the wagon, they go right back to being an addict almost overnight very often. Why? Because the addiction has returned. Same is true of heroin addicts or smokers.
But a hard drinker, who may drink just as much , won’t feel that at all. The craving will not be there or may be no stronger than your average person fancying a drink. .
Carl Junge’s take on it was that alcoholics suffer from a spiritual void, and he was probably spot on about that. The cofounder of AA, Bill Wilson. heard what Junge said, and adopted that into AA through the 12 steps. It’s a central premise.
So Yes, you could describe an alcoholic as someone who can;t stop drinking, you wouldn’t be wrong. But I think it would be more accurate to say they are addicted, and if they do start drinking after a period of abstinence, they usually, if left unchecked, return to the point they stopped at.
@Fandandi: when I was 20, I realised one day I was drinking a disturbing amount. I knew if I kept going, it would turn to alcoholism. I was drinking to get drunk 3+ nights a week. Thing is, I wasnt addicted to the alcohol, but rather, how it made me feel. So one day, I decided to reign it in.
Whilst I did still drink to excess from time to time,it was nowhere near the same frequency. I focused on the bad feelings I was left with, to help me curb what had become a habit, essentially. And… I cut my drinking drastically. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve kept doing so, because I’ve stopped enjoying it as much. Now, I have one or two drinks now and again, and the last time I drank to excess was april or may 2017.
And I was having issues. Not because of the actual alcohol, but because of the going out. Even the times I went out and didn’t drink caused problems. So I just learned to be more sensible, tbh. Less going out, and if I do go out, I prefer things like brunch, or tea, or dinner now.
@Perlum Sprite: I thought you were a fool after your first comment. Then you posted some more and I heard what you were saying. I was a hard drinker but have reigned it in. You speak sense dude. Thanks for taking the time to post. Maybe if others properly read what you said, they too would agree, instead of just wanting to be right
@Perlum Sprite: I can’t stress how ridiculous you sound. Or also possibly in denial about your own addictive personality! Best of luck with your “dependence”.
@Leisha: dickish comment Leisha. Maybe keep your passive aggressive bs to yourself
Alcohol, The cause of,and solution to, all life’s problems.(Homer Simpson)
Alcohol is legal and leads to happiness and one night stands….
The fear of judgment is a huge part of addiction. “Just reach out to someone” sounds so simple until that someone judges you, shames you, is angry at you, gives up on you.
@Sirius: Then that person is not any friend of yours in any way shape or form.
I MADE THE BBC!!!
@Layne Humphries: classic.
All Bullsiht , I once could drink 25 pints any night, that was 40 years ago . I drank as much as would sink a ship, no bother, no problem. I’m now nearly 70 , still drink 3 pints several nights a week. All Bullsiht, drink as much as long as ya can afford it and never mind the medics. Just don’t let it affect home life or your cash flow.
@Eugene Comaskey: how would you like your cirrhosis, medium or well done?
@Eugene Comaskey: not all hero’s wear capes
I like alcohol and alcohol likes me….for I know what to drink and what not to…I stick to the limit and able to get up in the morning bright and early I might add…people throw any amount of diff drinks into them every weekend plus with the unlimited supply of snow its causing huge problems into the mix aswell
“Half of people questioned for the index said that drinking to excess is not a big deal and 74% said it’s just part of our culture.”
This is startling…but also not surprising.
Any culture is blind to its faults and no one can really tell them it is a problem until they are ready to listen.
Until this country is truly ready to ask the hard questions about why binge drinking, drunkenness and alcoholism are so glamourous, it will continue to suffer the ill effects relationally, socially and financially.
@Seeking Truth: you can’t stand far enough away from yourself to see yourself for what you truly are sometimes. We have our issues with drink. Russia has theirs. Other countries have theirs. History has contributed. Some people can see because they want to. Others don’t. Alcoholism won’t be dealt with by country only by individuals.
@Green Lentils: very true well said
Ring fencing the duty on alcohol, and allocating it towards Counselling & Addiction Services, is one place to begin.
@UCC Social Democrats Society: Check the 5 year outcomes from those who attend residential treatment centres, and you may change your mind on pouring millions into a multi-billion euro industry that doesn’t give any better outcomes than AA and NA which are totally free of charge.
@Perlum Sprite: I admit that I didn’t even think of AA & NA – thank you for pointing this out to me. I shall go now and read up some more!
@Perlum Sprite: statistics can be very misleading facts figures stats people r people very different and unique to quote a wise man u r talking text book shite
@richard fennessy: Yeah, only the facts and figures come from a professor of psychiatry at Harvard who wrapped up through his book, “The natural history of alcoholism revisted”, the longest and only study of its kind on alcholism. They followed 600 males over 60 years, and tracked alcoholism through generations.
Speaking of text books, I suggest you read one. Wise man you ain’t.
@Perlum Sprite: That’s the only correct thing you have said in this whole thread.
@Denise Daly: Well you’re free to argue any points you disagree with, I’m all ears
People should try One-Year-No-Beer Challenge. This online forum has great support and material to help you quit or re-establish your relationship with Alcohol.
Here is an additional support to AA called SMART Recovery, this can be an additional piece or a stand alone piece depending on the individuals needs and their choices. https://smartrecovery.ie/
As an auld woman said to me one day as she was eating a feed of fat bacon n cabbage and her 4 sons giving out to her n she in her seventies about her health I never knew I reared as many doctors in the family eat m drink now cos you can’t in a wooden box hi hooo
Sorry about the reposts, it was slow to acknowledge it was posted
Here is an additional support called SMART Recovery, https://smartrecovery.ie/
This can be an additional support to AA or a stand alone group if it meets the needs of the individuals attending.
Here is an additional support to AA called SMART recovery, it can be an additional support or a stand alone piece depending on the individuals choice and what meets their needs, https://smartrecovery.ie/
went to the doctor yesterday.I said doc if I give up the booze will I live longer?
He said no but it will seem like it.
Alcohol issues come in many forms and trying to pigeon hole it causes half the problems. Same with the response to problem drinking.
Some go the AA route, some go the phycology route. Others manage it themselves.
To make blanket claims that one method works is wrong. It may have worked for you but might not for the next person.
Using anything alcohol or systems as a crutch to get through your issues is always going to be a problem for a person.
Fags beer and whiskey, what a Christmas
@classic: I think you left out the words “waste of a” between “a” and “Christmas”
have your say