Spanish
Vatican City.- The Pope urged this Friday to "stop the unnecessary slaughter of innocents" following the "unjustifiable attack" by Israel against the Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic church in Gaza, which caused three deaths and several injuries, the Vatican reported.
"Leo XIV called this morning the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to inquire about the situation in Gaza, where His Beatitude is visiting, and about the condition of Father Romanelli and the other people injured in yesterday's unjustifiable attack against the Holy Family Parish," it is stated in a statement.
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Pizzaballa and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, have entered Gaza with 500 tons of aid for the civilian population and have received the Pope's call to offer their solidarity after the attack on the church this Thursday, in which the parish priest Gabriele Romanelli was injured, to whom Pope Francis telephoned every day. According to the Holy See, Leo XIV "expressed support and affection to the entire community gathered around the Parish and to those suffering violence, and reiterated his intention to do everything possible to stop the unnecessary slaughter of innocents". "With the Patriarch, the Pope directed his thoughts to all the innocent victims, those of yesterday's attack and all those of this moment of pain in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East," he emphasized. After speaking with Pizzaballa, the Pope "also contacted the provincial of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, Fr. Carlos Ferrero, to whom Father Romanelli belongs, expressing his closeness to the entire community, faithful and religious, who were with him." "To all of them, Pope Leo assures his prayers and his incessant commitment to peace, the only way to preserve humanity from all sides," concluded the statement.Pope Leo XIV reiterated his call yesterday for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza and for "dialogue" between the parties, after expressing his "deep sadness" over Thursday's attack on the Gaza parish, which occurred when there were more than 400 displaced people inside, including children and people with special needs, and which provoked the unanimous condemnation of the international community
Last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented that "a stray munition" from the Israeli Army hit the church and assured that "every innocent life lost is a tragedy", in a message that came only after having spoken by phone with US President Donald Trump.
