ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 18, 2025 / 12:09 pm
“It is time to stop this slaughter.” With these words, Pope Leo XIV on Friday expressed his firm condemnation of the Israeli army’s July 17 attack on the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in a call to the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
As reported by Vatican News, the pontiff placed the call to Pizzaballa as the cardinal was traveling to the Gaza Strip with Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III.
The two religious leaders entered the area — whose borders remain blocked — with hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to assist Gazan families regardless of their religion. They also offered their comfort to the families of the victims of the attack, which directly hit the roof of the church and left three dead and 10 wounded, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.
As the two made their way to Gaza to visit the stricken parish, families of the victims, and the entire community, Pizzaballa said they received the call from Pope Leo, who, as the cardinal described it, “called us to express his closeness, care, prayer, support, and desire to do everything possible to achieve not only a ceasefire but also an end to this tragedy.”
According to the prelate, during the conversation, the pope repeatedly expressed his outrage at the violence of the Israeli armed forces. “He repeatedly stated that it is time to stop this slaughter, that what has happened is unjustifiable, and that we must ensure there are no more victims,” he explained.
Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly expressed his concern about the situation in Gaza since the beginning of the military offensive. His call on Friday added to a series of gestures of solidarity toward local Christians and the entire Palestinian people.
On Thursday, as soon as he learned of the attack, he sent a telegram signed — as is customary — by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to lament the loss of life and injuries “caused by the military attack” and to demand a ceasefire.
For its part, the Israeli government expressed its regret over the attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, attributing it to “a stray projectile” during the fighting in the Strip.
In a message on the social media platform X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his government was investigating what had happened and expressed his commitment to protecting civilians and holy sites.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem described the attack as a “crime” against a holy site. At the time of the bombing, the Catholic parish complex was housing some 600 displaced people, including many children and people with disabilities.
Among the dead were the groundskeeper and two elderly women who were being cared for by Caritas at the time of the attack. The parish priest, Romanelli, suffered minor injuries to his leg.
This is not the first time Holy Family Parish has been attacked. In December 2023, two women inside the compound were killed by an Israeli sniper. Seven people were also injured during that shooting. At the time, the Jerusalem Patriarchate condemned the “cold-blooded” attack on the parish perimeter, where there were “no combatants.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
