“We resolutely add our voices to those of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminding all parties in this conflict that war is never the solution but always a defeat,” said Broglio, also president of the Conference of Catholic bishops of the United States, in the press release. “We beg: “Peace, please, peace!” » »
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, also took to social media to express his “horror” at the events.
“I am heartbroken by the information provided by Cardinal (Pierbattista) Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, regarding murders committed within the grounds of the Holy Family Catholic Parish Church in Gaza City.” , declared the cardinal. said in a statement.
“I immediately sent a message to His Eminence to express my horror at these events and to assure him of the prayers of Catholics in England and Wales,” he said.
The patriarchy’s statement “paints a picture of the apparently deliberate and cruel killing of innocent civilians by IDF soldiers: an elderly woman and her daughter within a church compound,” he said.
“This massacre must stop. This can never be justified.
In a interview Speaking to British media outlet Sky News on Monday, Nichols said he did not believe the Israeli military’s denial, calling it “hard to believe.”
“The people of Gaza and the Cardinal Archbishop of Jerusalem have no right to lie,” he said.
While not agreeing with the Pope’s characterization of “terrorism,” the cardinal declared: “It is certainly a cold-blooded murder, that is the description given. »
Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, disputed the cardinal’s remarks during a live interview on Sky News on Monday, saying: “I would reject the categorization of the words he used: ‘bloody murder- cold’. This would indicate deliberate targeting of civilians; that’s something we don’t do.
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“We don’t shoot people who go to church, it just doesn’t happen. This is not how the IDF operates,” he added.
“To say that Israel deliberately targets faithful Christians is a terrible and unfounded accusation. »
Matthew Santucci is a CNA Rome correspondent based in EWTN’s Vatican bureau. He grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Rome since 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Fordham and a master’s degree in international relations from Luiss Guido Carli.
