Vatican City (Thursday, 01/08/2015, Gaudium Press) At the beginning of the Mass celebrated in Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis prayed for the victims, and their families, of the attack that occurred yesterday in Paris:
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| photo Vatican Radio |
What happened on Wednesday’s “terror attack in Paris brings to mind so much cruelty – human cruelty – so much terrorism, both isolated [incidents of] terrorism and of state terrorism,” adding, “of how much cruelty is man capable!” Pope Francis went on to say, “We pray, in this Mass, for the victims of this cruelty – so many of them – and we pray also for the perpetrators of such cruelty, that the Lord might change their hearts.”
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in a telegram sent to the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, His Eminence Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, which was distributed to the media, that the Pope is united in prayer and in the pain with the families struck by grief and sorrow. The Pope entrusts the victims to the merciful God, asking Him to welcome them into the light.
The Pope expresses deep closeness to the injured and their families, asking the Lord to offer them comfort and support in this difficult test.
The Holy Father condemns violence that generates much suffering and asks God for the gift of peace to heal at their depths the sources and causes of hatred, at this painful and dramatic moment, in France and in every part of the world marked by tensions and violence.
With information from Vatican Radio and the Vatican Press Office
