VATICAN CITY - In a telegram signed by Secretary of State Parolin, Leo XIV expresses "deep sorrow" over today's attack on the Holy Family parish. The Pope assures Parish Priest Romanelli, who was injured in the attack, of his spiritual closeness and prayers for the entire parish community. He then reiterates his call for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip and expresses his deep hope for "lasting peace".
Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip and expressed "deep hope" for "dialogue, reconciliation and lasting peace in the region." This was stated in a telegram signed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in response to today's Israeli military attack on the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza. People were killed and several injured in the attack, among them the parish priest Gabriel Romanelli, who suffered a slight injury to his leg and was immediately taken to the local Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.
It is to Father Romanelli that the Pope addresses a telegram expressing "deep regret" for this attack on a parish that has sheltered more than 500 refugees since the beginning of the war. Pope Leo entrusts the souls of the deceased to the "loving mercy of Almighty God" and assures the entire community of his "spiritual closeness" and prayers "for the consolation of those who mourn and for the healing of the wounded."
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