Pope Francis deplores Israeli killings of civilians in Gaza Catholic church
December 18, 2023
» Continue to this story on Reuters
CWN Editor's Note: The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a December 16 statement that “a sniper from the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza.”
“Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire,” Pope Francis said the following day. “And this has happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters.”
“A mother and her daughter, Mrs. Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar Kamal Anton, were killed, and other people were wounded by the shooters while they were going to the bathroom,” the Pope continued. “The house of the sisters of Mother Teresa was damaged, their generator was hit.”
“Some are saying, ‘This is terrorism and war,’” the Pope added. “Yes, it is war, it is terrorism. That is why Scripture says that ‘God puts an end to war…the bow he breaks and the spear he snaps’ (cf. Ps. 46:9). Let us pray to the Lord for peace.”
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
