Sara Netanyahu to Pope Francis: Please demand the unconditional release of all hostages

Pope Francis is not the leader of the Christian world.

The Pope should try to do the right thing, but Hamas won’t listen to him. They would behead him and all the Vatican if they could. In ages past, the Pope’s plea for release of hostages might have solidified support for Israel when Hamas refused again. I doubt that this Pope has such influence in the West.

So a Jew asks a Christian to ask a muzzie. Should go smoothly.

That is on the surface.
Beneath the waves, a Polish-Israeli Jewess from a family of International Bible Contest champions is testing Pope Francis, not if he is Catholic, but if he is Christian.

There is a pandemic of evil sweeping the world, manifesting in different forms yet focused like a magnet on Israel. Every soul is being tested, including our own.

Matthew 25:

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

The Pope should try to do the right thing, ...

Pope Francis Christmas Urbi et Orbi Message 2023

And on the surface, he (and his sermon writer) has finally called for the release of the hostages,
putting the remaining Christian communities in Gaza first then those in the Holy Land, and then also calling for the release of the hostages. It seems to me that is backwards, but that was his answer on the test, as seems to be his wont.

I notice that the address puts the Philistines (Arabic word for Palestinians as they don't use a 'P' but rather an 'F') first, and does not even call the hostages out as Jews or Israelis. Notice also that he speaks not a word about Ukrainians, Russia or Russians, just Ukraine. Odd, if one compares that to his reference to the Philistines and Israel. At least he used the word "Israel" first, before Philistia/Palestina.

May it come in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples. I embrace them all, particularly the Christian communities of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, and the entire Holy Land. My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of 7 October last, and I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage. I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims, and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid. May there be an end to the fueling of violence and hatred. And may the Palestinian question come to be resolved through sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties, sustained by strong political will and the support of the international community. Brothers and sisters, let us pray for peace in Palestine and in Israel.

My thoughts turn likewise to the people of war-torn Syria, and to those of long-suffering Yemen. I think too of the beloved Lebanese people, and I pray that political and social stability will soon be attained.

Contemplating the Baby Jesus, I implore peace for Ukraine. Let us renew our spiritual and human closeness to its embattled people, so that through the support of each of us, they may feel the concrete reality of God's love.

May the day of definitive peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan draw near. May it be advanced by the pursuit of humanitarian initiatives, by the return of refugees to their homes in legality and security, and by reciprocal respect for religious traditions and the places of worship of each community.

Let us not forget the tensions and conflicts that trouble the region of the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Sudan, as well as Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

May the day draw near when fraternal bonds will be consolidated on the Korean peninsula by undertaking processes of dialogue and reconciliation capable of creating the conditions for lasting peace.