ROME — Pope Francis issued a statement Tuesday condemning military attacks on Kiev and Gaza and calling for an end to both conflicts.
“The Pope learned with deep sadness of the attacks on two medical centers in Kyiv, including the largest pediatric hospital in Ukraine, and on a school in Gaza,” a statement released by the Holy See Press Office read.
“The Pope expresses his deep concern at the escalation of violence,” the statement continued, “and his compassion for the innocent victims and those injured, and he hopes and prays that a concrete path forward will soon be found to put an end to the ongoing conflict.”
Pope Francis on Sunday renewed his call for peace in Ukraine, asserting that “God is with the peacemakers.” https://t.co/UF8mrcfNWN
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The Israeli military said the latest attack hit a “school area” in Hamas-controlled Gaza City, adding that the facilities were used as hideouts by militants and housed “Hamas weapons manufacturing facilities.”
The Pope’s words are recent remarks Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has declared that Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip cannot be considered a “legitimate war.”
“The war is legitimate, a defensive war, but today, given the weapons available, this concept has become very difficult,” Cardinal Parolin told reporters in early July.
Asked about the current armed conflict in Gaza, Parolin said, “In this sense, it is by no means a just war.”
“Just war can only be spoken of in the context of defence, that is, in the case of a defensive war,” he added.
as well as a committee representing Catholic Church leaders in the Holy Land. statement He denied that Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza could be called a “legitimate war.”
The Committee for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land condemned the use of the term “just war” to describe Israel’s ongoing attacks in Gaza, arguing that neither Hamas’ attacks nor Israel’s indiscriminate response are “just wars.”
Pope Francis: “The time has come to abolish war and erase it from human history.” https://t.co/ydRUUroX2a
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“This theory is being used in a way it was never intended: to justify the deaths of tens of thousands of friends and neighbors,” said the commission, headed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
“We cannot allow the word ‘justice’ to be used to justify unjust, cruel and destructive acts,” the statement continued. “We must insist on the integrity of the word, for we are convinced that true justice is still possible if we can hold fast to the promise of the word.”
“Neither the attacks by Hamas nor Israel’s devastating war against them meet the criteria for a ‘just war’ according to Catholic doctrine,” the committee said.
In response, the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See has issued its own statement Condemn the article.
“It is deplorable that a group in the Catholic Church has decided to issue a document that is in fact nothing but oppositional, using religious pretexts and linguistic tricks. [to] “The right of Israel to defend its country against the declared intentions of its enemies to end its existence,” an Israeli press release on July 2 stated.
According to the statement, Israel’s objective from the beginning of the conflict has been “to end Hamas’s control in the region and to ensure that atrocities such as those committed on October 7 never happen again.”
The embassy also disputed the characterization of the events since Oct. 7 as a “war in Gaza,” saying criticism of the asymmetric nature of the fighting creates a “false symmetry that reflects bias and a one-sided perspective.”
Characterizing the conflict as a “war in Gaza” conveniently ignores “simultaneous attacks on Israel from Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran,” the report said.
He added that a more appropriate title for the events of the past nine months would be “a war against Israel’s existence.”
The statement also noted that Hamas terrorists are deliberately hiding in civilian areas and putting non-combatants at risk in order to sway public opinion against Israel.
