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by OSV News
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Pope Leo XIV on July 21 to discuss the war in Gaza and violence in the West Bank as the pastor of a Catholic church in Gaza told a newspaper that a recent shelling of his parish was "terrible" and that "the situation continues to be very serious."
During the call with Abbas, Leo "repeated his appeal for international humanitarian law to be fully respected, emphasizing in particular the obligation to protect civilians and sacred places, the prohibition of the indiscriminate use of force and of the forced transfer of the population," the Holy See Press Office said in a statement.
The call to Leo came after an Israeli strike hit Gaza's only Catholic church, Holy Family, on July 17, killing three and injuring 10 others - including the church's pastor, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, who was lightly injured in the leg.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the pope to express Israel's regret for what he called an accidental attack. Stray ammunition, Netanyahu later wrote in a post on X, "accidentally struck The Holy Family Church in Gaza."
In the pope's call with the Palestinian president "emphasis was placed on the urgent need to provide assistance to those...