Cardinal Brislin joins African clergy in calling Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide

VATICAN CITY (RNS) – Ten Catholic clergy from Africa, including Cardinal Stephen Brislin of South Africa, issued a statement Friday (Aug. 21) describing the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza as genocide, drawing on their continent’s experience of war and apartheid.

“We believe that the policies and actions of the Government of Israel in Gaza constitute genocide,” the statement read, citing arguments by international legal scholars and genocide experts. “Having learned to recognise dehumanisation in our own history, we cannot refuse to recognise it in another people.”

The statement was issued by Priests Against Genocide, a network of Catholic priests, bishops and cardinals advocating for Palestinian rights. The organization was founded in 2025 and says it represents over 2,500 members across 67 countries.

On Sunday, Pope Leo made an appeal for peace and called for a two-state solution that would respect the national integrity of Israel and Palestine. But the pontiff has stopped short of declaring Israeli actions in Gaza a genocide.

Brislin, among the signatories of the statement, is the Archbishop of Johannesburg in South Africa and was appointed last year by Pope Leo as…