Priests Against Genocide appeal for justice for Father Pierre Al Rahi

Priests Against Genocide,

The International network: Priests Against Genocide' have issued the following statement titled: Justice for Father Pierre Al-Rahi: A cry against impunity and war:

We express our deepest and most heartfelt condolences for the killing of Father Pierre Al Rahi, parish priest of St George in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon, who was torn from his land and his people on March 9 by an attack by the Israeli army.

Our thoughts are with the Christian community in southern Lebanon, wounded by violence that Cardinal Zuppi rightly described as "cynical and senseless."

Father Pierre did not die as a result of a tragic mistake, but while carrying out the highest evangelical mandate: helping his neighbour. After a first shot was fired from a tank at a house, the priest rushed to the scene with some young people to help the wounded. It was then that a second shot struck him fatally.

This "double-tap," which deliberately targets rescuers, is a brutal violation of humanitarian law. Father Pierre, 50, had chosen not to abandon his flock despite evacuation orders, bearing witness that faith does not flee in the face of threat.

As a network of priests, we cannot remain silent:

• Against ethnic cleansing: We denounce the risk of annexation and the disappearance of villages south of the Litani River. The systematic destruction of olive groves-more than 5,000 trees burned in 2024-and civilian homes is part of a "scorched earth" policy that aims to expel people from their history.

• Criminal impunity: The atrocities committed in Lebanon are a continuation of the carnage that is ravaging Palestine. The current Israeli government, which orders and carries out these attacks against civilians, children, and ministers of God, must answer for its actions before international justice.

The impunity enjoyed by those who use the "logic of the strongest" is a scandal that cries out for vengeance before God.

• Solidarity with the victims: We remember not only Father Pierre, but also Sami Ghafari, 70, killed by a drone in his garden in Alma el-Shaab, and all the innocent victims who refuse to give in to forced exile.

A call for peace and resistance

We join our voice with that of Pope Leo XIV in calling for "the din of bombs to cease" and for space to be opened up for genuine dialogue. War is never the solution, but a defeat for the whole of humanity.

We invite all communities to join us in a Day of Prayer and Fasting on March 13. Our only weapons remain "faith, the desire for peace, and hope in the resurrection," as Father Pierre himself said shortly before his death.

We will not tire of demanding justice. Because there can be no peace without truth, nor reconciliation without those who sow death being called to account for the blood they have shed.