Gaza: Patriarchate and CEI establish hospital to relaunch Church's mission in healthcare

Announced by Cardinal Pizzaballa and CEI Secretary General Monsignor Baturi. A long-term project to respond to the devastating crisis in the Strip. A pilgrimage by Italian bishops is also being considered. Ten years of Christian contribution to healthcare, from hospitals to the distribution of free medicines and treatment.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The tragedy of war - with its deaths and humanitarian crisis - is still strong and present in the Gaza Strip, the scene for almost two years of Israel's conflict with Hamas in response to the terrorist attack of 7 October 2023: but the Church of the Holy Land is already trying to look beyond this, with a view to reconstruction.

This is the context for the project, announced in recent days, to build a hospital in Gaza thanks to the collaboration between the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI).

The announcement was made by the Latin Patriarch of the Holy City, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Secretary General of the Italian Bishops, Monsignor Giuseppe Baturi. It is an attempt to support and relaunch humanitarian action in the Strip in the future, while global attention is currently focused on the Global Sumud Flotilla, dozens of whose boats have been intercepted by the Israeli navy and the activists detained.

The initiative, as the promoters explain, is intended to be a long-term response to the enormous needs in Gaza, especially in the health sector, where a crisis of devastating proportions has been ongoing for some time.

It is also part of the many initiatives of the Church of Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchate - through the parish of the Holy Family - for its population, including in the medical field.

‘There is a very serious health problem, and we want to address it with the Patriarchate: it is a concrete commitment that will mobilise a lot of energy,’ said Monsignor Baturi at the conclusion of his visit to the Holy Land from 27 to 30 September to present the project.

The Latin Patriarchate, through Cardinal Pizzaballa, expressed its ‘deep gratitude’ to the Italian bishops, emphasising that in the midst of devastation and despair, gestures of solidarity are not symbolic but give life. ‘Hope,’ continued the cardinal, ‘needs gestures, words, but above all a context in which bonds are forged, where unity and community are built. In situations of great pain and suffering, it is necessary to have someone by your side who supports and helps you. All this becomes a sign of hope.’

The hospital project is part of a wider network of initiatives supported by the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Latin Patriarchate, focused on meeting the urgent needs of the local community through food aid, educational opportunities and housing assistance.

Monsignor Baturi then defined initiatives such as this as an ‘energy of peace, capable of shaping consciences and opening up the future.’ In a region marked by political stalemate and humanitarian tragedy, while awaiting Hamas' response to the 20-point peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, the voices of Cardinal Pizzaballa and the Italian Church converge on the same message: ‘Peace,’ they say, ‘is not simply the absence of war, but the construction of concrete paths of hope, solidarity and shared humanity.’

On the subject of sharing and solidarity, the visit of the Secretary General of the CEI also served to define the timing and manner of a pilgrimage by Italian bishops to the Holy Land, as has already been done in the recent past by some regional episcopal conferences.

It is a practice ‘that we want to relaunch,’ says Monsignor Baturi, responding to an appeal in this regard "from many parish priests, both in Judea and Galilee. We will therefore make a pilgrimage as Italian bishops and promote many others: it is a concrete form of closeness and solidarity.‘

This promise was taken up and supported by Cardinal Pizzaballa, who said that ’hope needs gestures, words, but above all a context where networks are formed, where unity and community are built. In situations of great pain and suffering, you need to have someone close by to support and help you.‘ In this sense, even a pilgrimage can become a ’sign of hope."

Christians, despite being a minority, are an active component in Gaza's conflict-ravaged society, and even in these two years they have worked hard to bring aid to the population, both in the distribution of aid and in the health sector. Among the very few facilities that have remained open – but not spared by Israeli bombs – is Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, better known as the ‘Anglican hospital’, which was one of the first to be hit by Israeli air raids in mid-October 2023.

It continues to operate despite a chronic shortage of equipment, gauze, antibiotics, basic medicines and drugs for the treatment of serious or chronic diseases. Founded in 1882 in the northern sector, before the war the facility performed 300 surgical operations and around 600 radiological examinations per month, as well as running a free breast cancer screening programme for women over the age of 40.

In addition, the Centre for Elderly Women and the mobile clinic programme provided free medical care and food to residents of surrounding towns and villages. The hospital also sponsored Gaza's first training course for doctors in minimally invasive surgery and was developing plans to add a cancer centre with radiotherapy.

Then there is the decade-long work of Mother Teresa's sisters, who have dedicated a significant part of their mission to caring for people with disabilities: present since 1973, the Missionaries of Charity never wanted to abandon the Strip, even when the Holy Family parish was hit or when faced with the threat of a ground invasion by the Israeli army.

Furthermore, the work of the Latin Patriarchate - even in times of war - has allowed the entry and delivery of aid and basic necessities to Gaza. The most recent instance dates back to last July during the visit of the Latin Patriarch and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch after the attack on the parish, which left three people dead and also wounded the parish priest, Fr Gabriel Romanelli.