Parolin added that in the face of the seeming failure of diplomatic efforts to achieve good results, including with the war in Ukraine, it is imperative that “we all unite in a choral prayer for peace.”
The Vatican’s chief diplomat spoke one day after Hamas militants launched coordinated attacks from the Gaza Strip, killing 700 people and abducting dozens more, according to Reuters. On Sunday, the Israeli government formally declared war and launched retaliatory strikes.
Before the attacks, the U.S. government had been involved in negotiations with Israel and Saudi Arabia working toward establishing formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has continued to push for the normalization amid worries that the war will derail the negotiations.
Parolin said that additional “problems within the European Union” have made it difficult for Europe today to play the role for peace that it should play in the world.
“Beyond the destruction of human lives, which we have witnessed in a horrifying way .. the fragile hopes for peace that seemed to be emerging a little bit on the horizon are going completely up in smoke,” the cardinal said.
“So this is going to demand a much much greater effort to pick up the threads and try to arrive at a peaceful solution, which is the only just solution and the only effective solution that will prevent the recurrence of these situations.”
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