Graduate theological students at the predominantly left-wing and pro-Arab University of Berkeley in California are spearheading a petition to Pope Benedict that he visit Gaza during his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority next month. The Vatican has not commented.
Church Times, a British-based Anglican Church weekly newspaper, said that most of the signatories are Roman Catholics but that Muslims, Buddhists, humanists and atheists also have signed the petition.
The move is the latest leftist initiative to boost the image of Hamas as a legitimate party to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The petition claims that "the people of Gaza have been suffering under unjust social systems" while Israelis are living in “fear, distrust, and uncertainty."
Approximately 2,000 Catholics live in Gaza, who often have been attacked under the Hamas regime that seized full control of the region two years ago. In June 2007, a Catholic convent and school were ransacked and religious articles and books were desecrated.
Three months later, pipe bombs struck a Greek Orthodox Church following Pope Benedict's comments that were interpreted as in insult to the Muslim religion.
The Jerusalem branch of the Roman Catholic Caritas charity organization has been promoting the Berkeley initiative, and the Church Times reported that senior Catholic officials have asked Israel to allow Gaza Christians to leave Gaza for a mass led by the Pope in Bethlehem.
The international Caritas group campaigned against Israel during the Operation Cast Lead counterterror campaign in Gaza, blaming the IDF for endangering the lives of medical personnel and civilians in Gaza. It also called for an end to rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists.
The petition to Pope Benedict XVI states, "When we ask, 'Whose equal dignity is most unequally ignored?' or 'Whose equal rights are most unequally threatened?' the faces of the people in Gaza clearly arise....
"... we need to be willing to risk our lives without the protection of arms, and thus, to live by the loving wisdom of the cross and the divine hope of the resurrection. Such witness by Church leadership will inspire the Catholic faithful, particularly the young, to embrace their Church.... Such witness will also encourage other religious leaders to practice nonviolent peacemaking."