San Antonio archbishop deletes some social media posts about Gaza war

CNA Staff, May 9, 2024 / 15:35 pm

The Archdiocese of San Antonio says Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller “deeply regrets” that some recent social media posts on the war in Gaza, several of which were deleted Thursday, have “caused confusion and misunderstanding.”

In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, García-Sillar expressed solidarity with Palestinians while also appearing to conflate the Jewish people with the state of Israel. 

“Jewish brothers and sisters stop killing Palestinians. STOP!” the archbishop wrote in one now-deleted post. 

In another post, now deleted, García-Sillar wrote: “Antisemitism is condemned. To save the Palestinians is our hope.”

“As we pray & are in solidarity with the Palestinians, does not mean antisemitism,” García-Sillar wrote in one of the posts, which as of Thursday remains on his X page. 

“Peace is the goal. It is insane to try to get Hamas killing thousands of people & leading many people to starvation. That region is part of salvation history. It is hard to see it in an endless war.”

Archdiocesan spokesman Jordan McMorrough told CNA Thursday that García-Sillar “has consistently called for an end to violence in Gaza and around the world.” He also noted that the archbishop has engaged in outreach to local Jewish communities. 

“Archbishop Gustavo has preached strongly and emphatically against antisemitism through the years, including many public statements in the media abhorring antisemitic acts,” McMorrough said. 

“Archbishop Gustavo invites everyone to join him in praying for healing for all those who have been harmed and injured in this devastating conflict, and for the repose of the souls of those who have died so tragically.”

Following the lead of Pope Francis, the bishops of the United States as a whole, as well as numerous individual U.S. bishops, have called for peace amid Israel’s now seven-month-old war in Gaza.