Pope Francis' Christmas message to the curia did not go down well in Israel.
POPE FRANCIS
Yesterday the [Latin] Patriarch [of Jerusalem] was not allowed into Gaza, as had been promised; and yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to tell you this because it touches my heart.
Israel's harsh response to the Pope came from the Foreign Ministry. In their statement published on social media, it reads.
“Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children.”
They also say that 'cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them.' It ends with this sentence.
“Unfortunately, the Pope has chosen to ignore all of this.”
Yet during the Angelus the next day the pope insisted on rejecting what is happening in Gaza.
POPE FRANCIS
And with sorrow I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty; of the children machine-gunned, the bombing of schools and hospitals… So much cruelty!
That same Sunday the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was able to visit the Catholic parish in Gaza and administer the sacraments such as confirmation.
SR
