Holy Land Custos on Israel-Iran conflict: ‘We have fallen into a new nightmare’
June 17, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, the superior of the Francisan province of the Holy Land discussed Iranian missile attacks on Jerusalem, in retaliation for the Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We have fallen into a new nightmare,” said Father Francesco Patton, OFM, Custos of the Holy Land. “First we saw the destruction caused by the war in the surrounding territories; now we see it in the heart of the Holy Land.”
“Christians, like the rest of the population, are scared,” he continued. “I have already seen firsthand the terror of children during the war in Syria, I have heard it told from Gaza, now it is here too: children who tremble when they hear the sirens of the alarm and then the explosions of the missiles. These are traumas that they will carry with them for their entire lives.”
“Then there is a surreal silence in the streets, no longer only due to the absence of pilgrims, but also of the local faithful who in many cases are prevented from even going to church,” he added. “The militarization of the streets is shocking.”
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