As a Catholic priest, I agree with the Holy See about the need for more constructive dialogue and diplomacy. Nonetheless, in his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, the last Pope John Paul II wrote that a government has an obligation to defend its citizens against aggression.
The blockade is an unfortunate but necessary policy choice, since Israel is in a “catch 22.” It has a moral and ethical obligation to defend its citizens from the murderous Hamas. There is never justification for Hamas’ raining death upon Israeli non-combatants in the form of suicide or non-suicide bombings, rockets [etc, …]
The unfortunate citizens of Gaza made the choice when they elected a government that holds them and the Israelis hostages to violence.
Fr. James A. Loiacono
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
