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Pope Francis strikes again. Since the war began, he has been obsessively critical of Israel, weaving both old and new blood libels against it. Initially, he struggled to condemn the massacre and avoided meeting with Israeli delegations. When he finally met them reluctantly, he ensured these meetings were balanced by hosting Palestinian delegations as well. He consistently describes the war against Israel's enemies as "terrorism" and a "violation of human rights" and laments how "cruel" Israel kills children with "machine guns." For him, it seems, October 7 marked a liberation act by an oppressed nation against its oppressors, followed by genocide perpetrated by Jews.
Last weekend, the head of the Catholic Church met with the rector of an Iranian university who praised the pope for his "brave stance in defense of the oppressed Palestinian people." According to Italian media, the pope reportedly stated that his issue was not with the Jews, but with [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, who "caused the crisis and violated international law and human rights."
This week, Francis received a message from Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who invoked Jesus in his war against Israel and the entire West. If Jesus were alive today, wrote Khamenei, "he would not tolerate the starvation and displacement of billions of people driven by hegemonic forces toward war, corruption, and violence." The implication was clear: Israel is not the sole enemy; the entire West is. The pope did not object to these remarks.
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Given the pope's actions and statements, it is unsurprising how easily he has aligned himself with Israel's greatest enemies, who are also enemies of Christianity and the West. On October 7, Hamas terrorists committed genocide against Jews – not the reverse. This was orchestrated and financed by Iran, which has been advocating for Israel's annihilation for decades. Pope Francis is dragging the Church back to the dark days of Pius XII, who, according to some studies, not only failed to act on behalf of Jews during the Holocaust but even supported the Nazi regime.
In Syria, a Sunni sect akin to ISIS has taken over, slaughtering anyone it deems unfit. Christian preacher Maggie Khuzam warned Christians to flee: "Soon they will burn Syria, along with everything in it and [any] Christians celebrating with them today. In the future, there will not even be anyone left to bury them." Syria's new justice minister was once ISIS's chief executioner, known for decapitating "immoral" women. To mark Christmas, regime supporters burned Christmas trees in Christian towns. Have you heard the pope protest? If Jews aren't involved, it seems there's no interest.
Nearly half the Christians in the Middle East have fled, while the remainder face persecution. The notion that targeting Jews will somehow save Christians is a catastrophic error. Worse still, it is a moral disgrace.
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After the Holocaust, Pope John XXIII spearheaded reforms to improve the Church's relationship with the Jewish people. Under Pope Francis, however, these reforms have been forgotten, and the Church has morphed into a revolutionary branch for the oppressed of the Third World. The pope's accusations imply that Jesus is not a historical figure – a Jew who lived in Galilee in the first century, acted in Jerusalem, and died on the cross as a Jew – but rather a symbolic figure that can be appropriated, even by Christianity's enemies, as long as they are deemed oppressed.
Did you know that Jesus was Palestinian? Pope Francis made sure to publicize an image of himself next to baby Jesus wrapped in a Palestinian keffiyeh. For those familiar with the New Testament, the second half of this imagery is clear: the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are cast as Herod's soldiers, who killed thousands of infants because Herod had heard the King of the Jews had been born.
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Historically, the Catholic Church assigned Jews the role of degraded victims, destined to follow the fate of their most famous brother and remain on the cross. Pope Francis and his ilk cannot tolerate Jews who fight back against their crucifiers; for them, it is a theological scandal.
This is the essence of the State of Israel: Jesus stepping down from the cross, wrapping himself in a tallit, and returning to live as a Galilean Jew in the Jewish state. Now, he takes up arms and refuses to be crucified again.
Once, we were accused of deicide. In the Middle Ages, we were charged with using Christian children's blood for Passover matzah. Now, the claim is that we murder Palestinian children. These false accusations have always led to pogroms. The current pope bears responsibility for any harm inflicted on Jews worldwide as a result.
