Post by Fr David Neuhaus SJ | 11 June 2026
Priests too!
This morning, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Rome, I have an informal meeting with a few members of the Priests against Genocide network.
One of the heartening signs in recent months is the stirring of civil society in the face of the genocide in Gaza. Students, workers, academics, artists, and many others have begun to actively protest Israeli policies and actions in Palestine: the genocide in Gaza, the ethnic cleansing throughout Palestine, the ongoing occupation and endemic discrimination.
Among those beginning to organize in order to protest and put pressure on their governments in regard to Palestine/Israel is a network named “Priests Against Genocide”. It was initiated in August 2025 as a group of Catholic priests who could not remain silent in the face of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
One event that stimulated the establishment of the network, took place in June 2025, when Don Rito Maresca, parish priest in Piano di Sorrento in Italy celebrated Corpus Christi wearing a Palestinian flag as an alb. It was an August 2025 call from a woman religious in the Middle East that inspired some to join the network. In her letter, she wrote:
“We must believe that every act of truth, every public prayer, every sincere appeal can break the numbness, awaken consciences—and perhaps even move those in power. We cannot surrender to the logic of helplessness. We cannot remain silent. It pains me deeply to see a Church that is nearly silent. (…) (T)here can be no neutrality in the face of genocide. Either one is complicit, or one chooses truth. And today, truth screams from the rubble of Gaza. (…) The Church is not just another organization, nor a neutral institution: it is the Body of Christ. And so, perhaps it is time to place our bodies alongside the crucified body of humanity.”
Father Rito Maresca with a group of Italian priests then decided to organize a prayer in Rome on 22 September (eve of UN General Assembly), a first event of the network. See a short video of the event here:
The members of the network engage in different levels of activity.
• Personal level: praying and getting informed;
• Parish/community level: leading prayers; organizing debates; viewing movies on Palestine; doing fund raising; selling products from the Holy Land; discussing with other priests (convincing some); leading pilgrimages; organizing concerts; organizing photo/art exhibitions; raising awareness through catechism classes; twinning between Palestinian and western parishes; and other solidarity initiatives;
• Societal level: participating in demonstrations (and getting arrested as in the case of Fr John McGowan in the UK arrested with other members of Palestine Action); participating in lay ecumenical activities (e.g., planting olive trees); collaboration with Doctors Against Genocide in the USA; lecturing in schools/universities; giving interviews; posting on social media; exchanging info/ideas among the different national network of priests; advocating for BDS; disseminating the Kairos Palestine document (in collaboration with Pax Christi);
• Political level: seeking to meet with and writing to government officials and bishops to raise awareness.
The Network has grown to include over 2,200 priests and bishops from all five continents, united by the desire to bring together faith, equality, justice, and commitment to a true and lasting peace.
For priests who might be interested to join the network, please see here: