One of the most committed Zionists I have ever met is a Catholic priest from Southeast Asia. We almost argued once, because he is considerably more pro-Netanyahu than I am.

While living in Spain, I met many conservative Catholics affiliated with Vox, Spain’s right-wing party. None were antisemitic. None had any love for the jihadist den known as “Palestine,” universally perceived in conservative Spanish circles as a left-wing cause championed by their socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. I bring up Spain because what I saw there is not an anomaly. It is the norm. Across Catholic Europe, the right is pro-Israel — often passionately so. Portugal’s Chega, Italy’s Lega and Fratelli d’Italia, the National Rally in France, Austria’s FPÖ. Hungary’s Orbán, when the ICC issued its absurd arrest warrant for Netanyahu, invited the Israeli prime minister to Budapest and pulled Hungary out of the court.

Latin America tells the same story. Paraguay’s President Peña, a devout Catholic, reopened his country’s embassy in Jerusalem and delivered a speech at the Knesset, speaking of Israelis and Paraguayans as sister peoples who both know what it means to face annihilation — a reference to the War of the Triple Alliance, when Paraguay lost most of its population. Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz recently renewed diplomatic relations with Israel after a two-year rupture. And then there is Chile, the most remarkable case of all, as it is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab world. José Antonio Kast, a Catholic father of nine and lifelong conservative, won the presidency in a landslide after running explicitly on reversing Boric’s anti-Israel tantrum. Kast had called the recall of Chile’s ambassador to Israel “a shame for Chile” and pointed out that Hamas itself celebrated the decision. He took office on March 11.

Look at the full picture; the pattern is overwhelming. In every majority-Catholic country on earth where a serious right-wing party exists, that party is pro-Israel. Conservative Catholics worldwide recognize “Palestine” for what it is: a leftist and Islamist cause hostile to Christianity, hostile to Western values, and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)