Significantly absent in the long obituaries for Pope Francis in both the New York Times and the Washington Post were mentions of his deep concern for the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza. In Francis’s last public message on Easter Sunday, just hours before he died, he had called for a ceasefire in Gaza, and condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” there.

The obits also failed to note that Pope Francis had personally telephoned the Holy Family Church in Gaza just about every evening since Israel invaded the territory in October 2023 — including the Saturday night before Easter. The church’s pastor, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, remembered: “He said he was praying for us, he blessed us, and he thanked us for our prayers.” Other church members said that the Pope “would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room.”

Pope Francis’s concern for Gaza and Palestine did not start in October 2023. Rev. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian theo

They meet in 2016

::: spoiler Full Article in English for you anglo-saxon nerds that dont speak spanish

There is curiosity, admiration, and respect in their gazes. Two leaders, face to face. Fidel Castro, 89 years old and retired from public life, but always conscious of being a global icon. And Francis, the Pope of mercy, but also the new global leader, idolized by the masses around the world. The Pontiff who, in less than two years, changed the face of the Church, launched the Vatican Spring, and became an icon of hope for the "discarded."

Two wise people, laden with the life experience that comes with years of living. Surely they both wanted to see each other, greet each other, and speak. Fidel would be eager to meet the Argentine Pope, the first Latin American Pope, the Pope who is exposing savage capitalism and who wants to inaugurate a new era for the "common home" based on mercy and Samaritan