Pierbattista Pizzaballa

"A bishop cannot lead his flock without the collaboration of his priests, the religious and the faithful. He would not be a good shepherd. Today you are all with me, though not as numerous as we wished. But I know from different parts of the diocese and the world, many faithful and pilgrims of our and other diocese, are close to us in prayer, and it is in this spirit that we find ourselves as Church – the Mother Church of Jerusalem."

"After this crisis, one of the most serious of the last 70 years, neither Israelis nor Palestinians will be willing to seek temporary solutions. These events will force everyone to find stable solutions. [Two peoples, two states?] I don't know. Technically it seems difficult to me, even if it would be the only possible way. It is clear that whatever you choose to do will have to guarantee stability and freedom for both peoples."

"It is objectively an intolerable situation. We have always had many problems of all kinds, and the economic and financial situation has always been very fragile, but there has never been hunger. This is the first time we have had to deal with hunger. This is intolerable."

"We are made of flesh and bones, we need to experience, to touch, to see, to feel. Christianity is not spirituality, it is mysticism. Mysticism means experiencing, touching. The Shroud is a bit like the Sacraments, a kind of Sacrament. The Sacraments are a sign of an experience, of an encounter with Christ. And so it is with the Shroud. First of all, the Shroud immediately takes you back, with its image, with its reality, to two thousand years ago; and then it introduces you to that experience of resurrection and encounter with the Risen One: the Risen One who is present. Only you need to feel this presence, to touch it, and the Shroud introduces you to this experience."

"Cardinal Pizzaballa: The truce must hold, and everything must be done to ensure that it does. There are those who are working against it, we know that, but we must try not to give them any space. The agreement is the same as it was months ago. I believe it has been reached now because perhaps the human and international political conditions have matured. The important thing now, however, is to turn the page immediately and start dealing with the extremely serious humanitarian situation in Gaza."

"This is not the first time we have a conflict in the Holy Land. But this conflict has had an impact like no other. There is a clear ‘before’ and ‘after’, October 7, 2023, even if we struggle to define and understand what this ‘after’ is. The emotional, economic, psychological, human impact has been enormous on both populations, Israeli and Palestinian. For the Israeli population, it was a huge shock. Israel was founded as the home where Jews are safe, and suddenly that no longer seemed true. The hostage issue is the most crucial point for Israel. We are seeing protests continuing all over the country. Israelis are divided on many things, but they all agree on one: the hostage issue. It is a huge issue. Even for the Palestinians, what happened after October 7, in Gaza but also in the West Bank, was an incredible shock. I would say this is true for the Arab population in general. We are dealing with fear and feelings of hatred and resentment that, in these proportions, had never been seen before. We also have to consider the economic impact that the war is having on social life: part of the Palestinian population has lost their jobs, but even in Israel the situation is not easy ­– just think that there are no more pilgrimages. People who were working have been called to arms. Life is difficult. There is a deep sense of distrust that permeates society at all levels. It will be very difficult to rebuild trust after all this, partly because we cannot see what come next, when it will all end."

"There were two conclave, the one of the cardinals and the one of the media. I participated in the first one...I knew before I left for Rome that I would return. There was a very quick and very clear consensus among the cardinals on the choice to be made. I assured him [Pope Leo XIV] of obedience, closeness in prayer, loyalty and the will to work together for the Church in the world and in the Holy Land."