JOHN Swinney has written to the patriarch of Jerusalem to express his “profound sorrow” at an Israeli attack which injured a priest he knows.
The First Minister met father Gabriel Romanelli in Glasgow this year, the priest at the Holy Family Church in Gaza who was hurt in an air strike which killed three people.
In a letter to cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Swinney said: “It is with profound sorrow that I write to you to express my grief at the tragic loss of life and injury at the Holy Family Church in Gaza.”
He said that the killings were “but one of an untold number of tragedies that has come to pass in the region since October 7, 2023”.
Swinney added: “Having spent time with father Gabriel Romanelli in Glasgow last year, alongside my wife, his personal injury – and the death, injury and suffering of his parishioners – brings the horror of this situation painfully close to home.
“Of course, your eminence, I was also honoured to take part in mass alongside you in St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh earlier this year. I know how deeply you will feel the loss of three members of the Holy Family Church in [[Gaza]].”
Swinney, a member of the Church of Scotland but who is married to a Catholic, said that the Roman church’s position on Gaza – which saw the late Pope Francis (below) remain in touch with the Holy Family Church in Gaza until his death and the new Pope Leo XIV call for an immediate ceasefire – gave him “faith that a resolution to this conflict can be found”.
He added: “ Over 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began. Many more are being starved of food, water, and humanitarian aid.
“Reports that those seeking what little aid is permitted to enter Gaza face violence and death at the hands of the Israeli Government demands urgent international action.
“That the people of Gaza cannot even find peace and sanctuary within the confines of their place of worship brings me real pain.”
Writing in The National earlier this month, Swinney revealed he had called on Keir Starmer to evacuate injured children in [[Gaza]] to Scotland to receive medical care.
But he has since said that Starmer has made no response and said in a statement: “It is deeply saddening that so far the UK Government has refused to even enter into a dialogue about medical evacuations for children in [[Gaza]] who, without proper medical attention, will be left to die.”
However, the Scottish Government has previously tried to retain good relations with the Israeli government, the Sunday National revealed at the weekend.
External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson found himself at the centre of a political storm last year when it emerged he had held a secret meeting with Israeli deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky.
It has since emerged that Scottish Government officials talked up Edinburgh as being a "critical friend" of Israel.
