Notizie.it editorial team During the Angelus, the Pope spoke of the tragic discovery of six Israeli hostages killed during an army operation in a Hamas tunnel in Rafah. He renewed his appeal for an end to hostilities in Gaza, showing solidarity with all the families of the hostages held by Hamas since October 7, for whom he asked for their release. “I remember Hersh Goldberg-Polin, found killed at the beginning of September with five other hostages in Gaza,” Francis said. “Last November, I met his mother, Rachel, who touched me deeply with her human dignity. My thoughts are with her in this difficult moment.” “I pray for the victims and I feel close to all the families of the hostages,” Francis continued. “May the conflicts in Palestine and Israel end! May the violence and hatred cease! May the hostages be freed and negotiations continue to find peaceful solutions.” The Pope urged us not to forget “the wars that are shaking the world.” “I think of Ukraine in trouble, of Myanmar, of the Middle East. How many innocent victims! I think of mothers who have lost their children in the war. How many young lives have been erased!”, he cries sadly. Last Friday, answering questions from journalists during the flight back from Singapore, he says about the conflict in Gaza: “Sometimes, I think that one war is too much, too much. I apologize if I seem repetitive,” he says, “but I do not see any progress in achieving peace.” And he mentions the unbearable consequences of this war, including the fate of the six murdered hostages, which has caused great sadness not only in Israel.
“My boyfriend, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, is passionate about music and travel. On October 7, he was in Israel to attend a festival, drawn by the promise of a time of peace and unity. It has been 230 days since he left,” his mother Rachel revealed during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. Unfortunately, Hersh was among the victims; he was killed along with five others shortly before the arrival of Israeli forces. The tragic news was made public on September 1.
In the same speech, the Pope expressed his solidarity with the people of Vietnam and Myanmar, currently in difficulty due to the floods caused by a powerful typhoon. “I join in prayer for the victims, the injured and the displaced. May God comfort those who have lost their loved ones and their homes, and bless those who are bringing relief,” he said.
He also recalled the recent blessed, the priest Moises Lira Serafin, blessed in Mexico City the day before. He also highlighted that in Italy, that day, the Day of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was being celebrated. “I assure a thought and a prayer for them and for their families; I promote research on this disease and the volunteer organizations that support it,” he emphasized.
