Necva Tastan Sevinc
07 October 2025•Update: 07 October 2025
ISTANBUL
The Vatican secretary of state on Monday denounced the ongoing devastation in Gaza as “inhuman and unjustifiable,” urging the international community to move beyond statements of concern and take concrete action to stop the bloodshed.
Speaking to Vatican News for the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border raid on Israel, Cardinal Pietro Parolin called it “inhuman and unjustifiable,” while also stressing that Israel’s military response has caused “disastrous and inhuman consequences” for civilians in Gaza. Fewer than 1,200 people died in the raid, while Israel’s attacks on Gaza have since killed over 67,000 people, most of them women and children.
“It is unacceptable and unjustifiable to reduce human beings to mere ‘collateral victims’,” Parolin said, adding that thousands of people, “many of them children whose only fault is being born there," continue to die daily.
Parolin reaffirmed the Vatican’s call for the release of hostages held by Hamas and expressed “deep sorrow” for their families. He said both the late Pope Francis and his successor, Pope Leo XIV, have repeatedly appealed for their freedom.
The cardinal criticized what he called the “shameful inability” of powerful nations to stop the war, echoing Francis’ earlier remarks. “It is not enough to say that what is happening is unacceptable and then continue to allow it to happen,” he said, warning that the world risks becoming “accustomed to this carnage.”
He questioned the legality of continuing to supply weapons “used to the detriment of civilians,” and called for stronger international mechanisms to enforce humanitarian law.
Addressing the rise of antisemitic incidents worldwide, Parolin called antisemitism a “cancer to be eradicated.” He urged people to distinguish between criticism of government policies and hatred of Jews, saying: “No Jew should be attacked or discriminated against for being Jewish, and no Palestinian for being Palestinian.”
Recognition of Palestine
The cardinal also reaffirmed the Holy See’s support for the two-state solution, mentioning how the Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine 10 years ago.
“We look with satisfaction at countries that have recognized Palestine,” he said, warning that Israeli policies aimed at blocking a Palestinian state “go in the opposite direction.”
Parolin said an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state alongside Israel remains the only path to lasting peace: “The destinies of the two peoples and two states are interconnected.”
