On Oct. 7, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin gave a long interview to Vatican Media, in which he condemned both the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the “disproportionate” Israeli reaction. On the latter, he was quite blunt.
“Those who are attacked have a right to defend themselves,” Parolin said, “but even legitimate defense must respect the principle of proportionality. Unfortunately, the resulting war has brought about disastrous and inhuman consequences…. I am struck and deeply afflicted by the daily death toll in Palestine—dozens, sometimes hundreds, every day—so many children whose only fault seems to be having been born there. We risk becoming desensitized to this carnage! People killed while trying to find a piece of bread, buried under the rubble of their homes, bombed in hospitals, in tent camps, displaced and forced to move from one end of that narrow, overcrowded territory to another.… It is unacceptable and unjustifiable to reduce human beings to mere “collateral damage.”
On what can be done to stop the carnage, Parolin said: “It’s not enough to say that what is happening is unacceptable and then continue to allow it to happen. We must seriously ask ourselves about the legitimacy, for example, of continuing to supply weapons that are being used against civilians. Sadly, as we have seen, the United Nations has not been able to stop what is happening. But there are international actors that could, and should, do more to end this tragedy, and we must find a way to give the United Nations a more effective role in ending the many fratricidal wars ongoing around the world.”
Parolin also endorsed the Trump plan, but called for involving the Palestinians. He then condemned the rise of antisemitism.
Parolin’s words, albeit balanced, provoked an imbalanced reaction from the Israeli government. The Israeli embassy to the Vatican issued a statement saying that “The recent interview with Cardinal Parolin, while undoubtedly well-intentioned, risks undermining efforts to end the war in Gaza and combat rising anti-Semitism. It focuses on criticism of Israel, overlooking Hamas’ continued refusal to release hostages or end the violence. Most troubling is the problematic use of moral equivalence where it is not relevant, for example, applying the term ‘massacre’ to both Hamas’s genocidal attack on October 7 and Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense. There is no moral equivalence between a democratic state protecting its citizens and a terrorist organization intent on killing them.”
Next, Pope Leo XIV himself spoke out, backing Parolin’s statements. Asked by journalists at his arrival in Castelgandolfo, Pope Leo said that “the Cardinal has expressed the opinion of the Holy See.” Eventually Pope Prevost, perhaps to defuse further criticisms, spoke at length about the danger of rising antisemitism.
