Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an immediate end to the “barbarity” of the war in Gaza and the “indiscriminate use of force,” just days after a deadly Israeli strike on a Catholic church.
“I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” Pope Leo declared at the end of the Angelus prayer, following the death of three people on Thursday in Gaza’s only Catholic church.
“This act, sadly, adds to the ongoing military attacks on civilians and places of worship in Gaza,” he said.
“I appeal to the international community to uphold humanitarian law and the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibitions against collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,” the pope added.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced Thursday that three people had been killed in an Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, which has served as a shelter for the small Catholic community since the war began 21 months ago.
On Friday, Pope Leo XIV received a phone call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he “reaffirmed the urgent need to protect places of worship and, above all, all faithful and civilians in both Palestine and Israel,” according to a Vatican statement.
That same day, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed “deep regret” over the strike, acknowledging it as a “mistake” and announcing that Israel would open “an investigation into the incident.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the bombing of the church, which is “under the historic protection of France,” calling it “unacceptable.”
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