The Pope called for end to the war in Gaza following an Israeli attack on a Catholic church sheltering civilians.
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for “an immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip and expressed his “profound hope” for “dialogue, reconciliation and lasting peace in the region”.
The appeal came in a telegram signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin after the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza was hit during an Israeli military raid.
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Pope Leo XIV has renewed his call for a Gaza ceasefire after three people sheltering in the Catholic church in Gaza City were killed in an Israeli strike.
ReplyDeleteA telegram said the Pope was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack" on the Holy Family Church.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the church, said it was "struck by the Israeli army". Nine other people were wounded, one of whom is in a critical condition in hospital. The parish priest was lightly injured.
Many displaced families from Gaza's small Christian community have been living in the church compound since the war began after their own homes were destroyed.
ReplyDeleteAn Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, which left two people dead, violates international law and poses a direct threat to Christianity in the Holy Land, said the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches' Affairs in Palestine.
ReplyDelete"This heinous attack on a house of worship is not only a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law but also a blatant affront to the sanctity of religious sites," the statement reads. "The Committee views this strike as part of a systematic campaign that endangers the indigenous Christian presence in the Holy Land, and categorically rejects and denounces any attempt to justify the targeting of churches and religious institutions under any pretext. Such actions are war crimes and must not be met with silence."
The Holy Family Church is the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, which has been sheltering many displaced Christian and Muslim Palestinians since October 2023.
ReplyDeleteThe Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told the Vatican News website that the Holy Family Church was hit by a tank shell.
ReplyDeleteIsrael's foreign ministry expressed "deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty".
ReplyDelete"The IDF is examining this incident, the circumstances of which are still unclear, and the results of the investigation will be published transparently," a statement said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel and said: "The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable."
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