Pizzaballa and the Vatican’s Fight for Jerusalem

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa attends Christmas celebrations around the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, on Dec. 24, 2024.
Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images

Pizzaballa and the Vatican’s Fight for Jerusalem

While Islamic extremists try to wrestle Jerusalem out of the hands of the Jews, watch for the Vatican’s envious intervention.

Since Pope Francis elevated Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa to the rank of cardinal in 2023, Jerusalem has surged back to the center of Vatican diplomacy. For the first time in history, a resident cardinal resides in the Holy City as it faces one of its most intense recent conflicts.

Pizzaballa has been part of important discussions regarding the future of the Catholic Church in the Middle East. Many see him as a candidate to succeed Pope Francis.

But his views on the current Israeli government are concerning.

Calls for New Leadership

When made a cardinal in September 2023, Pizzaballa emphasized his mission to strengthen Catholic presence in the Middle East. “I remain a pastor for the Christian community here,” he said, “to help guide them throughout the various upheavals they may be faced with on a social and political level.”

A few days later, Israel was attacked by Hamas. The world’s attention rested on Jerusalem. Pizzaballa was lauded for offering himself in exchange for the children kidnapped by Hamas. “If I am ready for an exchange? Anything, if this can lead to freedom and bring those children back home, no problem. On my part, absolute willingness,” he said. While the exchange never happened, Pizzaballa used his fame to demand change where he believes it matters.

In an interview with La Repubblica published January 21, Pizzaballa called for new leadership in the Middle East. “Abu Mazen and Netanyahu are no longer the future of this tormented land,” he said, referring to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Vatican News interviewed Pizzaballa, asking: “There is one expression that both Netanyahu and [late Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar share: They both claim exclusive jurisdiction ‘from the river to the sea,’ leaving no space for the other. Does the ‘two peoples in two states’ solution still have any practicability today?”

Pizzaballa answered: “The whole Middle East needs new leadership and new visions. Only after that can we discuss the arrangements most conducive to peace between peoples.” Sinwar has since been eliminated by Israel’s military missions in Gaza. Syria and Lebanon have also seen a dramatic shift in leadership in the last few months, opening a door for the Vatican. But Netanyahu remains in office—for now.

Aggression Against Christians in Israel?

Pizzaballa has served in the Jerusalem Diocese since 1990 and, since 2020, has led the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem, which encompasses Cyprus, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. In 2023, he caught the attention of Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry, who wrote in “The Jewish Nation Has No Helper”:

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem is one of the most senior figures in the Catholic Church in the Middle East. Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa made some horrible attacks on Netanyahu in April. Speaking to the Associated Press, he condemned what he called Netanyahu’s “far-right government” and said it is contributing to an increase in attacks on Christians. “The frequency of these attacks, the aggressions, has become something new,” he said. “These people feel they are protected … that the cultural and political atmosphere now can justify, or tolerate, actions against Christians” (Times of Israel, April 13).

The facts paint a different picture. Israel is one of the only places in the Middle East where the number of Christians is rising. In all the examples of attacks on Christians that the AP recounted in this interview, those responsible were swiftly arrested and are being prosecuted—not tolerated or protected! In almost every case, senior police officers clearly condemned the attacks and emphasized how seriously they take this issue.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (camera) accused Pizzaballa and the AP of making “overt politicized allegations against the Israeli government and police, reflecting ancient libels that vilify Jews through charges proven false by facts” (April 24).

Why would the patriarch tell this lie?

Pizzaballa’s criticisms have made headlines and received the world’s attention. Vatican News reported on July 26, 2023:

Cardinal-elect Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks about the upsurge of attacks against Christians by Israeli extremists, saying Christians in the Holy Land don’t want special protection, but their fundamental rights to be ensured. …

Patriarch Pizzaballa explained that the violence involves basically new generations of Israeli settlers in the occupied territories who have grown in a socio-cultural context of violence and polarization fueled by some radical religious leaders. …

Although the current far-right Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not per se anti-Christian, according to Patriarch Pizzaballa, it has indirectly contributed to create a climate of tension and animosity in some circles of the Israeli society.

This is quite an accusation against the Israeli government.

Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asked Pizzaballa, “[Y]ou preside over an institution that dates back to the time of the Crusades. When were Christians in the Holy Land last under such pressure as they are today?” He responded:

Aggression against Christians is not new. What is new is the frequency with which they happen—and the fact that they are almost a “normal” phenomenon. I think it started about 20 years ago—and has increased since then. You can no longer call it episodic.

Most of those 20 years were shaped by Netanyahu. The same office that accuses Netanyahu of creating a dangerous climate for Christians was founded amid the Crusades. As Terry Jones and Alan Ereira write in Crusades, Jerusalem was open to visitors. With “the triumph of the Latin Christians, however, things were going to change. They had come to rid Jerusalem of all other religions and to make it a purely Christian city—and, what’s more, Christian in their terms.” Arnulf of Chocques, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem at the time, “forced all local Christians to conform with the Latin rite,” Britannica wrote.

The Catholic Crusaders also slaughtered Muslims and Jews, filling the city with blood. Would it not be appropriate to put current hostilities in that context? Wouldn’t it be fair to say the Jews have been welcoming? Would it be fair to say Jews in Europe have it much harder?

Astonishingly, Pizzaballa’s concerns are taken seriously in Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said after a meeting with Pizzaballa and other religious representatives in 2023, “We must respect the members of all religions. We have been committed to it from the beginning of our existence. Love your neighbor as yourself.”

While the Jews extend tolerance, the Vatican works to undermine the Israeli government.

Love for Gaza and Hamas?

The Catholic Church also has a small presence in the much less tolerant region of Gaza. When visiting just before Christmas 2024, Pizzaballa remarked:

We are living in a time filled with darkness, and there is no need to elaborate because you know it well. … I don’t know when or how this war will end, and every time we approach the end, it seems like we start anew. But sooner or later, the war will end, and we must not lose hope. When the war ends, we will rebuild everything: our schools, our hospitals and our homes. We must remain resilient and full of strength.

One could argue that the elimination of the Hamas terrorists was one of the best things that could have happened to the people of Gaza. Instead, the Vatican has repeatedly blamed Israel for the suffering of the past year. Pope Francis even called for an investigation into whether Israel is committing genocide against the people of Gaza. Perhaps he should focus on investigating the Vatican’s role in Nazi Germany’s genocide of Jewish people and its support in helping Nazi officials escape, as detailed in Unholy Trinity. (To learn more, read “The Ratlines.”)

When Israel caved to international pressure, ended its attempt to root out Hamas, and released hundreds of terrorists for a few hostages, Pizzaballa told Vatican News: “We are all very happy. In every context, people are happy because this war has worn us down, exhausted us, and wounded everyone’s lives.”

He said what matters now “is that we turn the page and start addressing the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” No doubt this aid will help the terrorists, as Mr. Flurry explained in “President Trump Betrayed Israel.” The deal may even force Netanyahu out of office—which is exactly what many in the Vatican want.

The Ambition

For centuries, the Vatican has sought control of Jerusalem, to the detriment of other religions. The Bible prophesies that the world’s religions will again clash over this city. But this time it will have a different outcome. As Mr. Flurry explains in Jerusalem in Prophecy:

The Vatican has said that Jerusalem must be an international city. The Catholic Church, like the Arabs, also has a passionate interest in this city. …

Three great religions—Christianity, Judaism and Islam—all have an intense interest in Jerusalem. That city is the third-most holy site to the Muslims. It is the most holy city for the Jews. Christians consider it their first or second holiest city. In the end, it is going to bring disaster to all three religions. “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:3). Even the United Nations is burdened down with Jerusalem. Those nations that burden themselves with that city will be “cut in pieces.” Instead of trusting God for a solution, they trust men.

Because of its past and future, Christ has more interest in that city than in any other city on Earth. Christ died in Jerusalem. He and His Father are going to rule the Earth and the universe from there!

While the religions of this world claim to fight for God, the Bible reveals that none of them are actually trusting and obeying Him. That’s why they are engulfed in conflict. This conflict over Jerusalem will lead to God’s supernatural intervention, as explained in Jerusalem in Prophecy (free upon request).