Skip to content

Cardinal Zuppi calls Hamas ‘the worst enemy of the Palestinian people’

Pope Francis’ peace envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, has called Hamas “the worst enemy of the Palestinian people.”

“We need a solution that guarantees the rights of the two sides, we really need an authoritative Palestinian leadership,” the bishop of Bologna and president of the Italian bishops’ conference said at the sidelines of a conference in northern Italy Oct. 26.

According to a local Italian television station, Telenord, the cardinal said the root causes of the conflict in Israel and Palestine need to be solved: “There’s to be clarity, firmness, and no kind of indulgence toward violence, and then you have to understand the causes to resolve it.”

He said he appreciates Pope Francis’ references to a third world war being fought “in pieces,” in which stability is increasingly threatened. “Conflicts affect you even if they tend to seem to have nothing to do with you.”

Zuppi also recalled that the pope has asked for another day of prayer and fasting for peace on Oct. 27.

The Italian cardinal, who has been tasked by Pope Francis with attempting to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia, spoke on the morning of the last day of an Oct. 24-26 congress for Italy’s mayors, held in the city of Genoa.

On the sidelines of the conference, he also spoke about a situation closer to home, saying it “should scandalize us” that 6 million Italians are living in poverty.

Italy’s national institute of statistics reported Wednesday that in Italy over 2.18 million households, 8.3% of all families, were living in absolute poverty in 2022. This translates to 5.6 million individuals, the agency said.

The institute attributed the slight increase from 2021 to a strong acceleration in inflation.

 

This story was first published on CNA.

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

Bishops invite Pope Leo to visit Peru: ‘His presence will renew the hope of our people’

The Peruvian bishops have officially invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Peru, assuring him that “his presence will renew the hope of our people.”

Vatican Shares Pope Francis’ Recorded Message During Rosary In St. Peter’s Square

In a prerecorded message, Pope Francis thanked those gathered for the rosary prayer service in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday night.

Is a New Armenian Genocide Looming? Insights from Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphaël Bedros

 Armenia, known as “the first Christian country”, adopted the faith in 301 and has remained Christian ever since.

Pope Francis: ‘We must not get used to war!’

Pope Francis delivers his Regina Caeli address on May 21, 2023.

Pope Francis’ Spiritual Exercises & Centralization of Vatican Finances

Pope Francis Dedicates Lenten Retreat to Spiritual Exercises Pope Francis recently dedicated the first full week of Lent

Helsinki and the Barbaric Fratricide in Ukraine

In the run up to Christmas, the Holy See has pushed for an end to the European war,

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTNit