In an interview tied to the second anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, Cardinal Pietro Parolin also called those attacks "inhuman and indefensible" and urged Hamas to free remaining hostages.
"Those who are attacked have a right to defend themselves, but even legitimate defence must respect the principle of proportionality," said Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state and one of Pope Leo’s top deputies.
"The war waged by the Israeli army to eliminate Hamas militants 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 ... clear that the international community is, unfortunately, powerless and that the countries truly capable of exerting influence have so far failed to act to stop the ongoing massacre," Parolin told the Vatican’s media outlets.
Israel’s embassy to the Holy See called Parolin’s interview "surely well-intentioned", but lamented that it "focuses on criticising Israel while overlooking Hamas’ continued refusal to release hostages or stop the violence".
In a post on X yesterday, the embassy said it was "problematic" to use the word "massacre" to describe both the Hamas attack and Israel’s response to it, adding that there could be "no moral equivalence" between the two sides.
Asked about the Israeli statement, Leo stood by Parolin.
"I prefer not to comment now. The cardinal has expressed very well what the opinion of the Holy See is," he told reporters at Castel Gandolfo, a papal residence just outside Rome.
• Leo is to visit Turkey and Lebanon on his first trip as pope, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced yesterday.
The visit to Turkey has been scheduled for November 27-30, with Lebanon to follow, where Leo will stay until December 2, Bruni said.
In Turkey, the leader of the Catholic Church will visit Iznik, where the Council of Nicea was convened by the emperor Constantine in 325, Bruni said. — Reuters/DPA
