The Brazilian bishop at the service of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Dom Bruno Varriano, Patriarchal Vicar for Cyprus, visited the headquarters of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB) in Brasilia (DF) on the morning of Tuesday, September 2. Received by the Auxiliary Bishop of Brasilia and Secretary General of the Conference, Dom Ricardo Hoepers, Dom Bruno shared the situation experienced by the Church in the Holy Land as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Fraternal sharing
“It is with great joy that I visit the CNBB, after my episcopal ordination, two years have passed. I am living this experience of fraternity with my brother bishops, for what the CNBB means for the Church in Brazil and for the world, in this fraternal communion between us bishops in sharing,” said Dom Bruno.
A religious of the Order of Friars Minor, Dom Bruno spent nine years in the Custody of the Holy Land, including as Guardian of the Convent of Nazareth. On January 9, 2024, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose patriarch is Cardinal Pierbatistta Pizzaballa.
Difficult times
Dom Bruno shared with Dom Ricardo and the other members of the CNBB Presidency about the moment the Church is experiencing in Gaza. “I bring the blessing and prayer that Cardinal Pizzaballa asks for Gaza at this time. We are living through difficult times, where we cannot leave Cardinal Pizzaballa and the Orthodox Patriarch [Theophilus III] alone at this time,” he said.
“What is happening to Gaza really is a crime against humanity. Our Holy Family Church, which today houses 600 refugees, was bombed. Three wheelchair users died, 50 people were injured and even the parish priest was hurt. What is happening today, we really have to say: enough with the violence! And today, what is happening in Gaza, we cannot be indifferent. We can’t leave the cardinal, his beatitude, Cardinal Pizzaballa, alone. The voice that cries out with courage and faith to Israel: “Enough with the violence!”. To Hamas: ‘Release the hostages, enough with the violence. It has gone beyond a line, we could say, of normality,” he cried.
From the Presidency of the CNBB, he received a sign of support, with the welcome and the assurance that “the patriarchs in the Holy Land are not alone, that the Church in Brazil is with the Mother Church of Jerusalem in this very difficult and delicate moment that we are living through”.
Font: https://www.cnbb.org.br/dom-bruno-varriano-situacao-terra-santa-gaza-crime-humanidade/