As the fighting in Gaza drags on, Pope Francis welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican.

Murderous Hamas terrorists have yet again supplied concrete proof of Catholic teaching that good can never come from evil.

Throughout the month of May, we have been responding to the call from Palestinian Christians to pray and walk in solidarity with them by making a “Ceasefire Pilgrimage” for peace. The idea is that people walk 42 km, either on their own or in combination with others, the distance it takes to traverse the entire length of Gaza. It is an ecumenical effort coordinated in Canada by KAIROS.

Pope Francis sat down exclusively with "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell on April 24 for an interview ahead of the Vatican's inaugural World Children's Day. The CBS interview marks the first time a pope has given an in-depth, one-on-one interview to a U.S. broadcast network, according to the network.

Staring death, destruction and starvation in the face on a daily basis, Christians in Gaza are staying steadfast to their commitment to love and serve, sharing ever-dwindling resources with their Muslim neighbours, report employees of two Catholic charities active in the Middle East.

While faith cannot change anything in moments of great darkness such as the one Israelis and Palestinians are currently living through in the Israeli-Hamas war, it can, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said, create "a small light" which will give "orientation."

Holy Land Catholic leaders have appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Canadian support in dealing with the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

Following a series of attacks on Christians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces Dec. 16, including the killing of a mother and daughter at a Catholic church, the Israeli Defense Forces said that it "takes claims regarding harm to sensitive sites with the utmost seriousness." However, the statement did not make any mention of the shooting deaths of the two women in the Holy Family Parish premises.

Following the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem's denouncement of a series of attacks on Christians in Gaza by Israeli forces Dec. 16, including the killing of a mother and daughter at a Catholic parish, Pope Francis and numerous bishops across the globe also condemned the attack, calling for peace.

The Hamas militant group Nov. 26 released a third group of hostages numbering 17, who include 12 Israelis, one American woman and an Israeli-American child and three Thai nationals, according to The Associated Press, and Israel confirmed it freed another 39 Palestinians.

With hopes growing for a temporary, humanitarian cease-fire, Pope Francis met at the Vatican Nov. 22 with relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and, separately, with relatives of Palestinians suffering under the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Churches in Jordan are canceling Christmas celebrations in solidarity with Gaza as violence in the Palestinian enclave mounts.

In a media world that portrays the Israel-Palestine conflict as simple hostility between people of the Judaic and Muslim faiths, the Christian presence in Palestine is minimized or erased.

For Mother María del Pilar Llerena Vargas, "it was an image that will be very difficult to erase." The Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Peru, who is serving in the Catholic parish in Gaza, recalled the pain of watching the funeral of Christians killed in an Oct. 19 blast at a Greek Orthodox church.

President Joe Biden and Pope Francis spoke by phone Oct. 22 to discuss the conflict in Israel and Gaza and facilitating a path to "durable peace" in the region, according to the press offices of both leaders.