In the most prominent article in its July 17 edition, L’Osservatore Romano recalled the first anniversary of the Israeli attack on Gaza’s sole Catholic parish.
Beatrice Guarrera reported that a year later, “fighting has not ceased, nor has the humanitarian emergency in Gaza.” A year after he was injured in the attack, Father Gabriel Romanelli, I.V.E., the parish’s pastor, said that “Gaza’s roads are destroyed,” that diesel costs $13 per liter, and that gasoline costs $27 per liter.
“80% of the infrastructure remains destroyed; this involves not just buildings, but also water and electricity networks,” added Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem. “Many schools and universities no longer exist.”
This fall, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem plans to reopen the Gaza parish school for 1,000 students. Bishop Shomali said that “the children will at least not be left on the streets. It is important that they return to their studies, to try to slowly bring them back to normality and attempt to overcome the trauma of war.”