The Pope: "No to collective punishment, no more war."

"I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations."

Pope Leo XIV's words were powerful today at the Angelus recited from Castel Gandolfo, concluding a morning entirely dedicated to embracing the community of Albano, with an early morning celebration in the Cathedral of San Pancrazio.

Pope Prevost specifically cited the "military" attacks by the Israeli army in recent days, not only on the Latin Church of the Holy Family, which has outraged and shocked the entire Christian world, but he also made extensive reference to other military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship, also expressing his own concern about the feared plans for the deportation or concentration of the Palestinian population, on the very day in which the IDF begins a ground operation with evacuation orders for Gazans to the South.

To Middle Eastern Christians in particular, Leo addressed heartfelt words: "To our beloved Middle Eastern Christians, I say, I share your feeling of being able to do little in the face of this dramatic situation. You are in the heart of the Pope and of the entire Church. Thank you for your witness of faith!" It was also significant that he chose to name each of the victims of the attack on the church: "I express my deep sorrow for the Israeli army's attack on the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family. I pray for the victims, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, and I am particularly close to their families and all the parishioners."

In an unscheduled move, the Pope also allowed himself to be briefly interviewed by several journalists present on the scene, a gesture that demonstrates how extraordinary and serious he considers the developments in Gaza, involving a sacred site that should have been protected in an attack that forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to phone Leo himself to apologize. "We must dialogue and lay down our weapons," the Pontiff reiterated, "the world can no longer tolerate war." Regarding Gaza, he added, referring to the phone call with Netanyahu, "we insisted on the need to protect the sacred sites and work together to this end, to abandon so much violence and so much hatred."

"Forgiveness is hard work," he warned at Mass, "but it is the only path to peace." The Israeli Prime Minister's phone call, however, is unlikely to calm tempers in the Vatican. Parolin's statements yesterday ("it is legitimate to doubt that it was a mistake") were echoed today by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, who said it was "an inhumane act, among many others," "which violates the ancient right to asylum, recognized as a step forward in civilization," and questioned whether it was ever "intended and planned."

Pope Leo, at his summer residence at Villa Barberini, will allow himself a couple more days of reflection and rest, the importance of which he himself spoke of this morning: "Summer is a propitious time to care for one another." Then on Tuesday, he will return to the Vatican, reviewing the texts for the Jubilee of Youth, scheduled for July 28th to August 3rd, as well as the dossiers on the ongoing wars, likely examining the reports arriving from the Israeli nunciature.