Hell in the Holy Land, but why has the Christian church been silent? Vatican condemns Gaza massacres

Vatican’s top diplomat sharply slams the Israeli massacre of defenseless Palestinians in Gaza. On the eve of the second anniversary of Operation al-Aqsa Flood by the Hamas resistance movement, the Vatican’s top diplomat has sharply slammed what he called the ongoing massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.

Pope Leo defends Parolin after Israeli embassy complaint

https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/pope-leo-defends-parolin-after-israeli-embassy-complaint/

Israel’s Embassy to the Holy See accused Cardinal Parolin of implying ‘moral equivalence’ by describing both the Hamas attack and the IDF offensive as ‘massacres’.

https://politicsthisweek.gn.apc.org/2025/10/not-the-bcfm-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-258/

The Pope defended comments by the Vatican’s Secretary of State that Israel’s Embassy to the Holy See said undermined peace efforts.

Speaking to reporters in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday, Pope Leo said Cardinal Pietro Parolin had “very clearly expressed the opinion of the Holy See” on the war in Gaza when he spoke to Vatican News to mark the second anniversary of the Hamas terror attack on 7 October 2023.

In the remarks published on Monday, Parolin called the attacks on Israel, in which around 1,300 people died, an “inhuman massacre”, and said the world “cannot and must not forget” the 251 hostages taken by Hamas and their allies.

He said the Holy See continued to ask and pray “that this perverse spiral of hatred and violence, which risks dragging us into an abyss with no return, come to an end”.

“We need to recover a sense of reason, abandon the blind logic of hatred and revenge, and reject violence as a solution,” Parolin said. “Those who are attacked have a right to defend themselves, but even legitimate defence must respect the principle of proportionality. Unfortunately, the resulting war has brought about disastrous and inhuman consequences.”

The conduct of the Israel Defence Force (IDF) “disregards the fact that it is targeting a largely defenceless population, already pushed to the brink, in an area where buildings and homes are reduced to rubble”, he said. “It is unacceptable and unjustifiable to reduce human beings to mere ‘collateral damage’.”

While he condemned antisemitism as “a cancer that must be fought and eradicated”, Parolin said he was “positively impressed by the turnout in demonstrations [against the war] and the commitment of many young people” around the world. He criticised “the countries truly capable of exerting influence [which] have so far failed to act to stop the ongoing massacre”.

In a statement posted on social media the next day, Israel’s Embassy to the Holy See said the cardinal’s intervention, “though surely well-intentioned, risks undermining efforts both to end the war and counter rising antisemitism”.

“Most concerning is the problematic use of moral equivalence where it does not belong,” it said, specifying his description of both the Hamas attack and the IDF offensive as “massacres”.

“There is no moral equivalence between a democratic state protecting its citizens and a terrorist organization intent on killing them,” the embassy’s statement said. “We hope that future statements will reflect this important distinction.”

The embassy previously criticised Parolin in February last year after he told reporters that the IDF had not been “proportionate” in its conduct of the war. It said he had come to “erroneous conclusions”, insisting that “IDF operations are conducted in full compliance with international law”.

In his comments in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday evening, Pope Leo described the time since 7 October 2023 as “two very painful years”, remembering the victims of the Hamas attack and the roughly 67,000 Palestinians who have died since.

“We must think about how much hatred exists in the world and begin to ask ourselves what we can do,” he said. “We must reduce hatred, we must rediscover the ability to dialogue, to seek peaceful solutions.”

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