Fear of war, economic strain, and an uncertain future are weighing on communities across the Middle East, Catholic leaders said, calling for a break from violence and a renewed commitment to hope this Easter.
Across a region marked by conflict and instability, bishops pointed to rising anxiety over livelihoods, security, and the future, while urging Christians to resist fear and reject the logic of violence.
At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, warned that violence continues to shape lives and histories.
“Too many tombs have been dug again by hatred, violence, and retaliation,” he said.
He said Easter confronts the belief that death has the final word. “The Lord is risen—and this is not a distant dogma, but a defiance of resignation,” he said. “It is the only hope that can still open, here and now, the gates of peace.”
He also warned against language that softens the reality of conflict, saying believers place Christ back in the tomb “every time we call an armed truce ‘peace’ and the calculation of damage ‘justice.’”
In his Easter Vigil homily, Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, spoke of fear felt across communities.
“We are afraid every time something happens that is beyond our control and our plans,” he said. “We have experienced fear of war, of its possible escalation; we think of our jobs and our beloved children, and their future.”
He said the deepest fear is the loss of love. “Indeed, the greatest fear in life is losing love, losing the one we love and who loves us,” he said.
“The certainty of his presence among us and of his victory changes everything; it changes the way we look at life and death; it changes the way we look at pain,” he added.
He also pointed to the broader human condition. “But how can all this still be good if humanity falls into sin and ruins creation through usurpation, the reckless exploitation of resources, and the violence of war?” he said.
Bishop Aldo Berardi, Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, spoke of the daily strain faced by many.
“People losing their job people afraid about what happened and the alarm every night every day so we are afraid,” he said.
He described Easter as “the hope in our life” and “the center of our faith.”
“We should be missionary of the resurrection missionary of hope and to share with the world the joy to be to be the children of God,” he said.
Pizzaballa said the Resurrection opens a path beyond violence even in the midst of conflict.
“We have no other weapon than this empty tomb: to proclaim that nothing is final, that the last word belongs not to those who bury, but to those who rise again,” he said.
Martinelli underscored that call. “No longer does fear define our lives, but the joy of the risen Christ, his presence among us,” he said.
Berardi urged the faithful to remain steadfast. “Let us be strong in this difficult time let us grow in our faith in our hope but especially in our love,” he said.
