{"id":21909,"date":"2026-03-18T19:35:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/?p=21909"},"modified":"2026-03-18T19:35:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:35:34","slug":"franciscan-friar-publishes-reflection-on-gaza-and-participates-in-open-letter-to-u-s-bishops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/en\/franciscan-friar-publishes-reflection-on-gaza-and-participates-in-open-letter-to-u-s-bishops\/","title":{"rendered":"Franciscan Friar Publishes Reflection on Gaza and Participates in Open Letter to U.S. Bishops"},"content":{"rendered":"

Franciscan Reflection on the Suffering in Gaza<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Franciscan Friar Jacek Orzechowski, OFM, has published a reflection entitled \u201c<\/span>A Franciscan Friar Shares His Response to the Ongoing Tragedy in Gaza<\/span><\/i><\/a>,\u201d in which he addresses, from a Franciscan spiritual perspective, the humanitarian situation faced by the civilian population in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n

The text is part of the Franciscan Wisdom Series and stems from the testimony of Nada Jwaifelat\u2014a Palestinian girl who survived an attack in Gaza\u2014and the author’s meeting with her in Washington, D.C. From this concrete experience, the friar invites us to contemplate human suffering in the light of the Gospel and the Franciscan prophetic tradition.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Open Letter from the Network of Priests Against Genocide \u2013 USA<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In this same context, several friars participated in the \u201cOpen Letter from the Network of Priests Against Genocide \u2013 USA, to the Bishops of the United States,\u201d addressed to the U.S. episcopate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter requests a clear stance on the situation in the Holy Land and calls for moral and pastoral responsibility in the face of the suffering of the civilian population.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the network\u2019s name explicitly refers to the priestly ministry, the initiative also includes non-ordained religious men and women committed to the defence of human dignity and peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Press Release on the Peace Board<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Additionally, the Network has issued a press release entitled:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. Priests Against Genocide Urges Catholic Leaders to Speak Out on the Peace Board as Suffering Continues in Gaza.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This statement explains the context of the letter and refers to the convening of the so-called \u201cPeace Council,\u201d highlighting the need\u2014according to the signatories\u2014for a clear ethical response to the current situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

This document is separate from the open letter and is intended for public information.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Franciscan Tradition and Prophetic Commitment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Both the friar’s reflection and his participation in the open letter and the dissemination of this statement are situated within the Franciscan tradition of commitment to justice, peace, and human dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The author invites Christians not to remain indifferent to suffering and to act with charity, justice, and fidelity to the Gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc4 The open letter and the press release can be found in the attached PDFs at the end of this publication.<\/strong><\/p>\n

_______<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Press Release – Spanish Version<\/a>
\nPress Release – English Version<\/a>
\nOpen Letter – Spanish Version<\/a>
\nOpen Letter – English Version<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Franciscan friar Jacek Orzechowski reflects on the tragedy in Gaza and participates in an open letter to the U.S. bishops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[962],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFranciscan Friar Publishes Reflection on Gaza and Participates in Open Letter to U.S. Bishops - OFM JPIC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Franciscan friar Jacek Orzechowski reflects on the tragedy in Gaza and participates in an open letter to the U.S. bishops.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/en\/franciscan-friar-publishes-reflection-on-gaza-and-participates-in-open-letter-to-u-s-bishops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Franciscan Friar Publishes Reflection on Gaza and Participates in Open Letter to U.S. Bishops - 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