Pope Leo XIV renews his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
'I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,' the pontiff said at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Leo also expressed his 'deep sorrow' for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest.
Will Pope Leo forge greater LGBTQ+ inclusion? Chicago-area Catholics pray for 'reconciliation rather than division.''I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,' the pope added.
The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating.
'We need to dialogue and abandon weapons,' the pope said earlier Sunday, after presiding over Mass at the nearby Cathedral of Albano.
'The world no longer tolerates war,' Leo told reporters waiting for him outside the cathedral.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
16 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Prominent Chicago defense lawyer Thomas Durkin, a zealous advocate for clients, has died at 78
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thomas Anthony Durkin, a nationally prominent criminal defense attorney who for five decades was a fixture in Chicago's courthouses and who was known for his relentless advocacy for a roster of notorious clients, has died. He was 78 years old. Durkin died Monday after a brief battle with cancer, said a daughter, Alanna Durkin Richer, an Associated Press journalist in Washington. Durkin participated in some of Chicago's highest-profile court cases, but his influence spanned beyond the city through his representation of Guantanamo Bay detainees, lectures at law schools across the country and legal essays and news media interviews in which he sounded the alarm about the perils of unchecked government power. His career was driven by a conviction that all defendants, no matter their alleged crime or society's perception of them, were entitled to a rigorous defense and to the protection of their constitutionally afforded civil rights. So committed was he to the defense of the unpopular that the headline of a 2016 Wall Street Journal article described him as a 'terror suspect's best hope in court.' 'I don't do this because I think my clients are wonderful people who should be exonerated,' he was quoted in the story as saying. 'I do it because I think I have a role in the system.' Durkin was born on the South Side of Chicago to a steel mill worker who saved enough money to put his son through the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated in 1968 and whose home football games he rarely missed. He later received a law degree from the University of San Francisco, where he was exposed to criminal defense by serving as a student adviser at a local public defender's office. Returning to Chicago, he clerked for Judge James Parsons of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois before entering private practice with a specialty in federal criminal cases. From 1978 through 1984, he served as a federal prosecutor in Chicago. Over more than 40 years in private practice, he cultivated a reputation as one of the country's foremost advocates of defendants other attorneys would pass on representing. 'He took on the most challenging, controversial and complex cases that other lawyers would run away from,' said Joshua Herman, an attorney who worked on national security matters with Durkin. 'Above all, he valued the rule of law the most and raised his strongest objections to what he saw as abuses of power.' Durkin's clients included Adel Daoud, who was accused in a plot to bomb a Chicago bar, and Mohammed Hamzah Khan, who as a teenager was arrested on charges of conspiring to provide support to the Islamic State. He won an acquittal on terrorism charges for Jared Chase, one of the so-called NATO 3 defendants accused of plotting to bomb the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago, and he represented Matthew Hale, a white supremacist leader accused of domestic terrorism offenses for soliciting the murder of a federal judge. 'I used to tell him he was my favorite 'cause' lawyer,' said Dan Webb, a former U.S. Attorney in Chicago who said he had known Durkin for more than 40 years and spoke to him just a week ago for a case they were working on together. 'When he got committed to a cause, he would not stop until he accomplished his goal.' He also was a go-to lawyer for numerous local elected officials who found themselves in legal trouble. The work, Durkin said, appealed not only to his commitment to civil liberties but stimulated him intellectually and spiritually as well. 'I think these are the cases of our day. They point out all the problems that terrorism has spawned, with the reaction on our side, both good and bad. I find them fascinating,' he said in a 2014 Chicago Reader piece. 'There are some days I find it hard to believe that people are paying me to be involved in what I'm involved in. There's a tremendous amount of history you have to learn, which I enjoy. There's a lot of theology you have to understand, which I enjoy.' Beyond Chicago, he did legal work for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, including helping represent Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an accused facilitator of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and representing others who have since been returned to their home countries. His experiences there, he said, helped show him the 'dark side' of American intelligence. 'I think I've been involved in some pretty wild stuff around here but I've never been involved in anything as wild as this,' he said in a 2009 Chicago television interview. Since 1984, he operated a law practice, Durkin & Roberts, with his wife, Janis Roberts, whose own legal career he was proud to pay tribute to. 'Without Roberts,' he has said, 'there is no Durkin.' Besides his wife and his daughter Alanna, he is survived by five other children: Erin Pieplow, Krista Mussa, Catherine Durkin Stewart, James Stewart and Matthew Stewart, and 15 grandchildren.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Israel's Gaza church strike sparks moral debate. Is it losing support from its strongest US allies?
The Israel Defense Forces struck the only Catholic church in Gaza last week. The compound of the Holy Family, which belongs to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was hit at 10:20 a.m. local time. Three civilians were killed and nine others injured, including the parish priest. The Patriarchate described the attack plainly: 'the targeting of innocent civilians.' Israel, after a torrent of international criticism including from President Trump, claimed the strike was a mistake. But no public evidence has yet supported that explanation. Churches, of course, are not difficult to identify: cross, steeple, certain features. And no credible account has emerged explaining how this specific target was mistakenly hit. Many argue that the strike may have been an intentional form of retaliation for Christian leaders' recent criticism of Israeli settler violence in a West Bank Christian town. Regardless of intent, this strike is an instantiation of a political turning point. The truth is that Israel overstepped not only the line of military proportionality, but the line that keeps even its staunchest allies — American evangelical conservatives — in its corner. That shift is visible at the top. Even Mike Huckabee, a longtime evangelical ally of Israel and U.S. ambassador to the country, has warned that Israel may be turning openly hostile toward Christians. In a pointed letter to Israel's Interior minister, he threatened visa restrictions on Israel for blocking Christian pilgrims from entering the country. Huckabee's criticism matters not just because of his stature, but that he represents millions of evangelical voters who have historically provided Israel with a powerful base of bipartisan American support. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), too, voted alongside Democrats to strip Israel of $500 million in funding hours after the bombing. Another Mike, Daily Wire commentator and essential Christian Zionist Michael Knowles, reacted to the strike and said: 'You're losing me. When you strike churches and start interfering with American interests… Now we've got a problem.' Support for Israel in the U.S. has long rested on two legs: shared strategic interests and shared moral values. The second of those legs is buckling: not just on the left, but now, visibly, among Israel's own evangelical base. The political backlash already underway clearly shows that Israel's pattern of hostility toward Christians is beginning to carry substantial consequences. Evidently, Israel's gamble with the goodwill of its strongest political base in the U.S. has failed. And there's another reason why striking a church is politically self-defeating: the West may struggle to communicate empathy for Palestinian civilians, but they brought in the beacon of American conservatism: Christianity and the church. I say this not as someone predisposed to condemn Israel. I as a Christian was broadly supportive of Israel in the weeks following Oct. 7. Not out of ideology but because, prudentially, I believed Israel's response to Hamas' attacks was warranted and necessary. But I now firmly believe government of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has crossed the proportionality line with its recent food and aid blockade and relentless bombardment of civilians. Self-evidently, Israel has gone beyond its supposed mission to eliminate Hamas and get the remaining hostages released, and now seem overshadowed by an egregiously destructive military operation. And just as Israel's moral clarity has eroded, so too has the political cover once granted by its most reliable American supporters. When Israel strikes the church in Gaza they lose Michael Knowles. When Israel starts interfering with Christian pilgrims, they lose Mike Huckabee. And if they lose the Huckabee archetype, whom they rely on, then the Israeli government is badly misplaying its hand. In any case, an indefinite war, especially one with such a catastrophic civilian toll, cannot retain public or political support in the U.S. Still, the U.S. remains Israel's closest ally. But that support depends on shared values. If those values begin to diverge, so too will the relationship. William Liang is a writer living in San Francisco. His work has appeared in the Daily Wire, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Diego Union-Tribune and more.
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
War in Gaza tests ties between Israel and traditional European allies
LONDON (AP) — Britain threatened Tuesday to take further action against Israel if it does not agree to end the war in Gaza, a day after two dozen mostly European countries condemned Israel's restrictions on aid shipments into the territory and the killings of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food. Despite the increasingly strong words, many are skeptical that Israel will yield to such pressure without more significant punitive action — and especially without the backing of Germany and the U.S., Israel's strongest Western allies. Outrage over Israel's actions in Gaza has grown in Europe as images of suffering Palestinians have driven protests in London, Berlin, Brussels and other capitals. More recently, the almost daily killings of Palestinians while seeking aid have tested the EU's friendly relationship with Israel like never before. But Europe remains divided on its stance toward Israel, and its limited sanctions and condemnations so far have had little effect. Here's a look at what Europe can do or has done — and why it hasn't done more. EU reviews its ties with Israel over Gaza The EU has been reviewing its diplomatic and trade ties with Israel over its conduct in Gaza. An internal report recently found indications that Israel has violated its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a 25-year-old legal framework governing the political relationship and trade cooperation between the two sides. But so far the EU has taken no action to suspend such ties. Some have criticized the EU — Israel's biggest trading partner — for a lack of political courage and for underestimating its leverage on Israel. 'What we can see is mounting pressure, but those are words, those are not actions,' said Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow at London's Chatham House think tank. Individual countries, such as Britain, Canada and Australia, have slapped sanctions on Israeli settlers in connection with violence against Palestinians, including asset freezes and travel bans. But such measures have yielded few results. In addition, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway have sanctioned two far-right Israeli ministers for allegedly 'inciting extremist violence' against Palestinians in the West Bank. The U.K. said in May that it would suspend free trade talks with Israel, also over the West Bank. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy hinted at stronger action Tuesday, saying he felt 'sickened' by the suffering in Gaza, but he did not specify what measures were being considered. 'We will continue to pressure. We will continue to act,' Lammy told British media, stressing the need to work with allies to get the 'maximum result.' Speaking Tuesday on X, European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen reiterated the EU's call for 'the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid. And for the full respect of international and humanitarian law. Civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, for too long.' If Israel does not change course, options could include fully or partially suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which would require a unanimous agreement by all 27 members of the EU. Other steps could be suspending an aviation agreement, blocking imports from settlements, limiting scientific and technological cooperation, and curtailing travel for Israelis in the visa-free zone known as Schengen, according to a leaked document sent by the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, to member states. The document was seen by The Associated Press and verified by two EU diplomats. Nations could act on their own, including sanctioning specific companies or individuals in Israel or the occupied West Bank. Why hasn't Europe taken stronger action? The short answer is that Europe remains divided, and it is highly unlikely that the entire EU would reach unanimity to drastically dial up pressure on Israel. European nations such as Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain have publicly urged the EU to reassess its ties with Israel, charging that Israel has violated human rights conditions in its agreement with Brussels. But Germany and Hungary have staunchly defended Israel, along with Romania, which just bought air-defense systems from Israel. Suspending EU ties with Israel would require a unanimous decision, which is likely impossible to obtain. Germany is the main holdout Monday's joint statement by 25 countries was rejected by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who called it 'disgusting.' Western allies should instead pressure the 'savages of Hamas,' he said. Israel condemned the countries' stance and said Hamas was the sole party responsible for prolonging the war. Hamas triggered the ongoing 21-month war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, and continues to hold some 50 Israeli hostages. One significant outlier in Europe is Germany, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel in Europe, with relations rooted in the memory of the Holocaust. The country has vehemently rejected the idea of suspending the EU's association agreement with Israel. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other officials have gradually sharpened their criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza in recent months. But they still appear to favor trying to influence Israel by conveying their concerns directly. Germany did not join allies in signing Monday's letter condemning Israeli restrictions on aid. There were signs of pushback within the German government Tuesday, when the parliamentary leader of Merz's junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, said Germany should join Britain's initiative and that 'double standards undermine our international credibility.' Merz said Monday that he had spoken at length with Netanyahu last week and 'told him very clearly that we do not share the Israeli government's Gaza policy.' 'The way the Israeli army is acting there is unacceptable,' he said. Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an expert on diplomacy in the Middle East, said any EU action must go beyond words. 'Israel doesn't listen to language,' Bar-Yaacov said. 'I mean, language doesn't go anywhere with the current Israeli government. Unless a mechanism is agreed and enforced promptly, then the words have no meaning whatsoever.'
