Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place. However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza. Many other innocent civilians have also been harmed, displaced and killed. Death, suffering and destruction are everywhere. The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all what is necessary in order to stop this tragedy which is humanly and morally, unjustified. This horrific war must come to a complete end—so that we may commence the long work of restoring human dignity.

—Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, statement after bombing of Holy Family Church in Gaza, 17 July 2025

Tell your representative to Block the Bombs

The United States continues to supply military weapons to Israel at an alarming scale. H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives to stop the delivery of certain offensive weapons that Israel has been using in its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The amount of death and suffering created by these U.S.-made weapons is shameful and makes our nation complicit in the devastation. Just yesterday, Israel directly bombed the Holy Family Church in Gaza, the one that Pope Francis called daily to offer encouragement, even while hospitalized in the months before his death.

Please use the draft email in the grey box at right (below on mobile devices) to urge your representative in the House to become a co-sponsor of this bill.

Background

At the beginning of June, 22 representatives introduced H.R. 3565. Its goal, like several attempts in the Senate with Joint Resolutions of Disapproval before it, is to prevent the transfer of certain offensive weapons to Israel. The weapons and political support that the U.S. continues to provide to Israel allow them not only to continue killing Palestinians in Gaza and destroying their infrastructure but enables Israel to support settlers perpetrating ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in the West Bank and carry out military attacks in the broader region.

Continued U.S. condoning of Israel’s genocide also emboldens other forms of violence in Gaza, including Israel’s blockade of food, water, and medical supplies and the trap laid by the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”. Under the guise of keeping Hamas from stealing and hoarding food, the plan is effectively creating terror and deepening the famine for the over 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza. Insufficient quantities of food and medical supplies are offered in dangerous and hard-to-access locations by U.S. military contractors, and when Palestinians arrive, they are bombed, shot, and trampled. Families have to decide whether to try to alleviate their starvation at the risk of injury and death.

The number of Gazans directly killed by Israel since October 7, 2023 has now exceeded the number of U.S. combatants killed in the entirety of the Vietnam War, and in one-fifth the time. Over 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, most more than once.