At a conference on Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust on October 9, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, said that “two days ago, on the day of the Sabbath, on the feast of Simchat Torah, the joy of the Torah, in Israel, many Israeli brothers and sisters were awakened by a terrible and despicable attack. We are close to the families of the victims, to the thousands of wounded, to those who are missing and kidnapped and now in grave danger.”
“The Holy See is following with deep and grave concern the war that has been provoked, in which also many Palestinians in Gaza are losing their lives ,and many are displaced and wounded,” he added.