Dave Szollosy, Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land, Toronto

Canada is not a neutral party to the genocidal violence being committed by the Israeli armed forces on Gaza and the suffering of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Although the Canadian government has stated its policy is to cancel arms exports if these could be used in war crimes, already in 2025 the Canadian government approved new military export permits valued at over $37 million.

The information provided by Global Affairs Canada only deals with “new” permits and does not include details about Canadian industries that have long benefited (profited) from the slaughter of Palestinians. Canada never stopped exporting weapons to Israel despite public promises to the contrary. Bullets, explosives, aircraft parts, and F-35 targeting tech all from Canadian factories are fueling Israel’s war machine in Gaza. Canada also continues to transfer arms to Israel through the United States loophole. By shipping arms to the US to be assembled into fighter jets, attack helicopters, and other deadly weapons systems, Canada evades arms trade regulations and circumvents its responsibilities as a state party to the Arms Trade Treaty. Thus Canadians share a responsibility for responding to the violence that is being committed in their name and with their complicity.

Added to the direct deaths caused by bombing and military attacks on the population is the weaponization of starvation. Famine is confirmed to be decimating the population in Gaza. Over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death. This is a human-caused crisis.

Although the Ecumenical movement in Canada as well as some of the churches, notably the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church, have made very strong pronouncements on the genocide taking place in Gaza and the settler violence in the West Bank (Palestine) such as the July Ecumenical letter to Carney re: Gaza signed by Christian Leaders, an official Catholic voice has been largely absent.

The Catholic Register, the national Catholic newspaper owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Toronto, has consistently produced extremely biased coverage, repeating talking points that reflect the official positions of the Israeli military and the Netanyahu government and their Canadian Zionist apologists. (see letter by Joe Gunn in the Letters to the Editor tab)

In response to the void of Catholic voices and representation in ecumenical working groups, Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land was formed to motivate Catholics to be informed and engaged in the Palestinian people’s struggle and to represent Canadian Catholics in the work with other groups working in solidarity. The steering committee is comprised of religious and lay Catholics with a background in Palestine and individuals can sign onto the mailing list to get current updates on the actions. (To subscribe: https://mailchi.mp/f2e885e06c6e/contacts).

Caritas Internationalis―the global confederation of Catholic relief, development and social service organisations of which the Canadian Arm, Development and Peace Caritas Canada (https://devp.org/en/) is part, issued a complex judgment that leaves no doubt as to where the Canadian church must stand calling “for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict…“In the light of the Spirit that guides us, Caritas Internationalis abhors all these acts (collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population) and omissions in the strongest terms. They represent a blatant disregard for the values and fundamental principles of humanity and clearly violate International Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, as well as many provisions of specific UN Conventions, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

The leaders of 52 Catholic religious orders, representing both English and French speaking congregations have written Prime Minister Carney twice, recently urging him to take much stronger action, in collaboration with the leaders of other nations, to create the conditions for an immediate ceasefire as well as a greatly increased flow of food supplies and humanitarian aid. This follows on their May 2025 letter supporting Canada’s joint statement with other nations calling for a halt to military operations in Gaza and a halt to illegal Israeli settlements (see “Religious Congregations of Sisters in Canada” in the Letters to the Editor tab).

One of the strongest responses and prophetic voices from the Catholic community has come from The Canadian Women Religious ORCIE, the Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology. They wrote to the Canadian Prime Minister to thank him for efforts to “ensure humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza” and to promote an end to the Israeli military action in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has recently broken its long silence on the ethnic cleansing and genocide suffered by Palestinians throughout the Holy Land under the occupation by the State of Israel in a public “Statement Regarding the” on August 26, 2025. The statement proves however to be a very disappointing and shallow response that displays a distortion of the reality and a neutrality that favours the oppressor. The only action it called for on behalf of Canadian Catholics, “Praying and fasting for peace in the Holy Land (as) both urgent and necessary at this time,” is a woefully inadequate response to the constant killing and imposed starvation of the entire population – a genocide that poses the greatest moral challenge of our time to humanity. Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land released an open letter in response (see “Nomination for Pax Christi International Peace Award” in the Letters to the Editor tab).

The muted response of the CCCB contrasts with the position taken by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which has called for parishes across the country to hold a “special collection to provide humanitarian relief and pastoral support for our affected brothers and sisters in Gaza and surrounding areas in the Middle East.”

The official Canadian Catholic Church cannot continue to maintain a hypocritical façade of neutrality when the faithful in Gaza are calling for our help, such as stated in the Joint Statement by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; “With equal urgency, we appeal to the international community to act for an end of this senseless and destructive war, and for the return of the missing people and the Israeli hostages.” (see “Israeli Strike on Gaza Church Kills At Least Three, Wounds Priest Who Was Close to Pope Francis” article in the Other News tab)

Our faith is inspired by the truth uttered by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, who while visiting Gaza said; “Christ is not absent from Gaza. He is there — crucified in the wounded, buried under rubble and yet present in every act of mercy, every candle in the darkness, every hand extended to the suffering.”

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