Leo XIV held telephone conversations this Good Friday morning with the presidents of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he reiterated the importance of opening avenues of dialogue in both the Middle East and Ukrainian wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pope reiterated to the Israeli President \u201cthe need to reopen all possible channels of diplomatic dialogue, in order to put an end to the serious conflict in progress, with a view to a just and lasting peace in the entire Middle East\u201d. And he also addressed, according to has reported<\/a> the Vatican press office, the importance of \u201cprotecting the civilian population and promoting respect for international and humanitarian law\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conversation follows the unfortunate incidents on Palm Sunday in the Old City of Jerusalem, when Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from celebrating Mass and the liturgy of the day in the Church of the Holy. Sepulcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Herzog had called<\/a> to the Latin Patriarch Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, to \u201cexpress my deep regret for the unfortunate incident that occurred this morning in the Old City of Jerusalem\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He clarified that the incident was due to \u201csecurity concerns over the continued threat of missile attacks by the Iranian terrorist regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles landed in the Old City area of Jerusalem in recent days,\u201d the Israeli president explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Good Friday, in addition, the traditional Pontifical Collect takes place Pro Terra Sancta<\/a> in aid of the Christians of the Holy Land, known as the Day for the Holy Places 2026<\/a>, The Commissariat of the Holy Land of the Immaculate Conception in Spain is present in the bishoprics, parishes, convents, brotherhoods, religious schools, etc., of the 48 dioceses that comprise the territory of this Commissariat of the Holy Land of the Immaculate Conception in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe aim is to collect contributions from the faithful to help the Christians of the Holy Places\u201d, \u201cespecially in need after more than two years with hardly any income because of the war. We hope that the pilgrimages will continue to grow in strength, since they are the other main source of their income\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the words of the team of the Commissariat of the Custody of the Holy Land, led by the Commissioner Fr. Pedro Gonz\u00e1lez Gonz\u00e1lez, ofm, and the Vice-Commissary Fr. reported<\/a> Omnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\nToday, collection for the Holy Places<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pope to Zelensky: reach cessation of hostilities as soon as possible<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n