Patriarch Pizzaballa of Jerusalem says “What is happening is an unprecedented tragedy” -“Peace, even at the anthropological level, is not merely social agreement....is based on the truth of the human person.” at Lateran University Lecture

 Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gave the following lecture at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome:
Call for Peace in the Holy Land
Pizzaballa: What is happening is an unprecedented tragedy
From the first lines of Cardinal Pizzaballa's lecture, there was a cry of pain and a call for peace in the face of the tragic situation tearing the Holy Land apart. “What is happening is an unprecedented tragedy,” he began. “To the seriousness of the military and political context, which is getting worse day by day, is added the deterioration of the religious and social context. It is a depressing scene .”
This came during a lecture delivered by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, where he stressed the necessity of striving for peace in the Holy Land. This lecture came after he assumed the honorary presidency of the Church of San Onofrio in Rome, and was part of the activities of a specialized study course in peace sciences and international cooperation at the Institute for Pastoral Care, Redemptor Humanis .
In light of this deep crisis, the Patriarch of Jerusalem called on the Church to renew its commitment to seeking peace, based on two basic pillars of the Gospel .
Looking at the face of God
The first is “looking at the face of God,” because peace, before being a human project, “is a gift from God, and even says something about God himself.” Citing Pope Paul VI's famous speech at the United Nations on October 4, 1965, Pizzaballa asserted that "the construction of modern civilization must be based on spiritual principles, capable not only of supporting it, but also of enlightening and reviving it. For these principles to be necessary, they must “Be founded on faith in God .”
Looking at the other's face
The second pillar is "looking at the other's face." As Pizzaballa explains, “Peace, even at the anthropological level, is not merely social agreement or the absence of war, but is based on the truth of the human person.” Only in the context of comprehensive human development and respect for human rights “can a true culture of peace be born.” Referring to the philosopher Levinas, he insisted that “in the face of the other, the absolute is at stake” and that “the world is mine insofar as I can share it with the other.”
In the face of a worsening situation and the inertia of international institutions, which have become “weaker and weaker” and powerless, Pizzaballa also highlighted the lack of local leadership capable of showing gestures of trust and making “courageous choices for peace.” However, he warned the Church and all actors in the pastoral field at various levels, against succumbing to “the temptation to fill the void left by politics” by entering into negotiation dynamics to which they do not belong .
The only reference is the Bible
The Patriarch strongly emphasized that the mission of the Church is “to continue to be itself, a community of faith” for which the “Gospel” is its sole reference. Its mission is "to create in society the desire, the attitude and the sincere commitment to meet the other, knowing how to love in spite of everything." A path that passes through “listening to the Word of God” and bearing witness to the Paschal Mystery of Christ, “the only one who demolished the barrier between men, the wall of hostility.”

Source: Abouna.org