Rome, Italy, Jan 22, 2009 / 16:38 pm
The Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and the Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem, Archbishop Antonio Franco, visited the Gaza Strip this week to personally deliver a donation from Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholic community of the region and to express the Pontiff’s spiritual closeness.
In statements to the Italian news agency SIR, the nuncio said, “I have visited the center of Gaza, where I saw much destruction. The damage is gravest on the outskirts.”
The nuncio also recalled that when he celebrated Mass at the Parish of the Holy Family, it was “packed with the faithful.” It was to these people that the archbishop said he brought “the closeness, the prayer and the solidarity of the Pope through a personal donation that is intended to alleviate the sufferings of these days.”
“Solidarity,” he explained, “is fundamental at this time because it is a useful instrument to create conditions of peace and reconciliation.”