Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, September 15, 2024. (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Pope Francis says he met the mother of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin last year, expressing his closeness with relatives of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza earlier this month after they were apparently executed in a Hamas tunnel.
“I think of the Middle East. So many innocent victims. I think of the mothers who have lost sons to war. How many young lives cut short,” Francis says at the end of the Angelus prayer. “I think of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, found dead in early September with five other hostages in Gaza.”
People walk next to a mural of slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin in central Jerusalem, September 15, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“In November last year, I met his mother, Rachel, whose humanity struck me. I accompany her at this time. I pray for the victims and continue to be close to all the families of the hostages,” he adds.
“Let the conflict in Palestine and Israel cease. Let the violence cease. Let the hatred cease. Let the hostages be released. Let negotiations continue. And may solutions for peace be found,” Francis adds.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
