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Photo by Dariusz Kanclerz on Unsplash
By Charles A. Coulombe, OnePeterFive, April 3, 2025
Charles A. Coulombe is a contributing editor for OnePeterFive. He is the author of many books, most recently Blessed Charles of Austria: a Holy Emperor and His Legacy, as well as Puritan’s Empire: A Catholic Perspective on American History, Vicars of Christ: a History of the Popes, with A Catholic Quest for the Holy Grail. His writings have appeared at the Catholic Herald, Crisis, The European Conservative and he also has his own podcast with Mr. Vincent Frankini.
The sacred armies, and the godly knight,
That the great sepulchre of Christ did free,
I sing; much wrought his valor and foresight,
And in that glorious war much suffered he;
In vain ’gainst him did Hell oppose her might,
In vain the Turks and Morians armed be:
His soldiers wild, to brawls and mutinies prest,
Reduced he to peace, so Heaven him blest.
—Torquato Tasso, “Jerusalem Delivered.”
Since 1948 and the British withdrawal from their erstwhile Mandate over Palestine, the rest of the world has been forced to watch the Israelis and Palestinians do their best to wreak havoc on one another – while the local Christians and the Holy Places are held hostage, as it were, with the former constantly diminishing in numbers, influence, and safety. Now, given the atrocities committed at different times by the two parties upon each other, one can understand why each feel justified in committing more in retaliation for the last round. Forgiveness is not a major feature in either of the two religions whose votaries are locked into this grinding position. For the Palestinians, the Israelis are invaders who have seized their ancestral lands; for the Israelis, the Palestinians are latecomers who are interfering with their complete occupation of what they too consider their ancestral homeland. Is there an end, can there be an end, to this relentless round of bloodshed and pain without the murderous annihilation of one side or the other? After all, it seems obvious that neither side can expect much mercy from the other; supporting one side or the other seems to be giving them carte blanche for whatever cruelties they wish to visit on their foes. Where do a believing Catholic’s loyalties lie? ….
