Image edited by Global Voices. Pope Francis in the Vatican, n.d., Photo: Catholic Church (England and Wales)/Fotos Públicas.
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The Holy See’s calls for peace in the Holy Land and Jerusalem have been recurring for decades now, aiming for coexistence and freedom of religion for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. On April 20, 1984, in the Apostolic Letter Redemptionis Anno, Pope John Paul II, recalling a sentiment already shared by Pope Paul VI after visiting the Holy Land and Jerusalem in 1964, stated that from his point of view, the “failure to find an adequate solution to the question of Jerusalem” compromised further the “longed-for peaceful and just settlement of the crisis of the whole Middle East.”
Under the 1993 Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel, when the two states established formal diplomatic relations, the Holy See and Israel committed to the “promotion of the peaceful resolution of conflicts among States and nations, excluding violence and terror from international life.”
In March 2000, in his jubilee pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in the speech he gave when visiting Palestine's autonomous territories governed by Chairman Yasser Arafat, Pope John Paul II noted that the Holy See “has always recognized that the Palestinian people have the natural right to a homeland, and the right to be able to live in peace and tranquillity with the other peoples of this area.” Yet it was not until 2015, under Pope Francis’s papacy, that the Holy See officially recognized the State of Palestine in a comprehensive agreement.
Narrative: Palestine lost a friend and an ally in Pope Francis
Pope Francis's active advocacy for justice in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has resonated deeply with Palestinians and defenders of their rights, regardless of their religious affiliation. Those asserting this narrative frame consider Pope Francis a true friend and ally of the Palestinian cause and see his death as a significant loss for those advocating for a peaceful solution that recognizes Palestinians’ rights.
Since the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis has been a vocal advocate for the rights of Palestinians, not only recognizing the State of Palestine but repeatedly calling for a ceasefire after the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 and the consecutive launch of Israel’s war on Gaza and until his final address.
In November 2023, after meeting with relatives of Israeli hostages and Palestinian families affected by the war, Pope Francis denounced the violence in Gaza as an act of terrorism, criticizing both sides of the conflict. A month later, in December, he reiterated this condemnation, again describing the war as terrorism, this time in response to an Israeli attack on Gaza’s Catholic parish.
In mid-November 2024, Pope Francis called for an investigation to assess whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constituted genocide, stating that there was a need to carefully determine whether they fit “into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.” To date, the cost of human lives from this conflict has been enormous and is still rising. Pope Francis was not the only one asking if Israel’s actions are genocide; the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other international actors have said the same.
Some groups within the Catholic Church view Pope Francis’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, where he actively advocated for justice in addition to peace, as conflicting with the principles that uphold the unique relationship between Judaism and Catholicism, with some academics claiming that his statement on the investigation of the genocide accusation against Israel crossed a line, “that of neutrality,” and that his remarks posed a “risk for Israel as a state and for Jews worldwide.”
How this narrative is asserted online
In this X post, Palestinian political scientist Xavier Abu Eid reacts to the passing of Pope Francis by cataloging the words and actions that made him a friend of Palestine, especially during Israel’s latest war on Gaza.
By referring to Pope Francis’s comments on how it couldn’t be peace without justice, the author is implying that the Pope recognized the need to prosecute all those involved in war crimes and the Palestinian right to self-determination.
The reactions to Abu Eid’s post, while including criticism from pro-Israel and pro-MAGA accounts, underscore the divisive nature of the conflict and the significance of voices that advocate for a rights-based approach.
Xavier Abu Eid is a PhD candidate at Trinity College Dublin and a former Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) advisor. He was born in Chile to a Palestinian Christian family from Beit Jala and is the author of “Rooted in Palestine: Palestinian Christians and the Struggle for National Liberation 1917-2004.”
The item received 25 quote posts, 31 comments, 540 reposts, 1.5k likes, and 103 bookmarks. It ranked +1 under our civic impact scores as while mourning Pope Francis, the author recounts the Pope’s efforts for a ceasefire and the need for accountability that the Pope advocated for, replicating the message of the Pope.
In this X item, Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto expresses her love for Pope Francis and laments his passing, praising him as a singular public figure who showed empathy and moral courage to support Palestinians and pledged to pray for him.
Bhutto’s claim that Pope Francis “was the only public figure of conscience and compassion we had” suggests that those in favor of the Palestinian cause are even more alone in their mission now that Pope Francis has passed.
Fatima Bhutto is an award-winning Pakistani novelist, columnist, and public figure in her own right, with 2.6 million followers on X. She is a scion of Pakistan’s preeminent political dynasty, the Bhuttos, being, among other relations, the niece of one and the granddaughter of another historical politician and former prime minister. She has publicly criticized the dynastic politics practiced by her family, is a vocal pro-Palestine advocate and critic of public figures, and is a secularist cultural Muslim.
The item received 44 quote posts, 21 comments, 1k reposts, 6.2k likes, and 205 bookmarks. It ranked +2 under our civic impact score, given Bhutto’s reach while amplifying Pope Francis’s unique, humane approach to the situation in Gaza and his advocacy for a peaceful solution.
Read more on the reactions to Pope Francis’s passing
