DW spoke with William Shomali, a Palestinian Catholic prelate which serves as an auxiliary bishop of the Latin patriarchy of Jerusalem, after the death of Francis. Shomali described Francis as a “big man”.
“He supported the poorest, disadvantaged, refugees,” said Shomali.
“He supported the Gaza community,” said Shomali, while adding that he “called every day”.
Francis remained in close contact with a Roman Catholic parish in the city of Gaza in the middle of the Military Campaign in Israel and fighting with Hamas.
“We cannot forget that from a human point of view, it was very close to the people of the Holy Land,” said Shomali.
“He wrote a letter last year, October 7, to Christians from the Middle East, telling them how they should be proud to live in the Middle East, where there are the rules of Christianity and you must be patient,” said Shomali. “”There will be a solution to your problems, but they don’t come the same day. You have to pray. He spoke as a father and we lost a father. It is therefore the other side of the icon. »»
Shomali said that although Pope Francis left, “his words remain”.
“And we now pray that the future pope will be a man of peace and will very well know the sufferings of the two people here. And he can say the good word to politicians and we pray. We trust the Lord that we will not be forgotten in the future,” said Shomali.
