Sunday, December 17, 2023

‘One of the most cruel chapters of history’ unfolding in Gaza, says Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin

Dublin and Glendalough Dioceses — Changing Attitude Ireland

What is happening in Gaza “is unspeakable. It defies description,” Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough Michael Jackson has said.

In a pastoral letter “to the Archbishop and clergy of our partner Diocese of Jerusalem” he said, “we bow our heads in wonder at the self-sacrifice of people denied everything that makes life possible.”

In 2014, Dublin and Glendalough dioceses formed a partnership with the Diocese of Jerusalem.

The Diocese of Jerusalem has responsibility for the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza where, last October, an explosion killed and wounded hundreds of people who had sought safety there. 

Dr Jackson said the hospital was “now a household name worldwide for courage, service and dignity”.

“One of the most cruel chapters of history has now unfolded day by day and hour by hour over the last weeks and months,” he said.

People’s lives had been “reduced to a fog of shivering fear and to a rubble of shattered humanity. Language and meaning have changed irretrievably, memory and happiness no longer fit together nor do belief and trust. No new world has dawned,” he said.

Last week, the archbishop launched a Shine a Light for the Diocese of Jerusalem appeal at St Ann’s Church on Dublin’s Dawson Street.

A vigil for peace in St Ann’s afterwards was attended by former president Mary McAleese and inspector of mental health services Prof Jim Lucey, both lay canons at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.

Also in attendance was Bishop Ferran Glenfield, representing the Church of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal, which is partnering with the Dublin and Glendalough appeal; president of the Methodist Church in Ireland Rev David Turtle; Adrian Cristea and Shaykh Dr Umar al–Qadri, representing the Dublin City Interfaith Forum; and chair of Social Justice Ireland Prof Tony Fahey.

Details on how to donate can be found at the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough website. All funds will go directly to the Diocese of Jerusalem.