Jul. 14 (CWNews.com) - The Holy See has protested Israel's air raids on Lebanon, condemning both terrorist acts and reprisals that violate national sovereignty and strike at innocent civilians.
With Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) on vacation in the Italian Alps, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano (bio - news), read a public statement on Vatican Radio. That statement was released promptly by the Vatican press office on July 14.
Cardinal Sodano said that the Holy Father was carefully following news of the latest developments in the Middle East, "which risk degenerating into a conflict with international repercussions."
"As in the past, the Holy See also condemns both the terrorist attacks on the one side and the military reprisals on the other," he continued." He argued that Israel's right to self-defense "does not exempt it from respecting the norms of international law, especially as regards the protection of civilian populations."
"In particular," the statement continued, "the Holy See deplores the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation."
Cardinal Sodano concluded his brief statement with a renewed appeal for an end to armed struggle and a renewal of negotiations.
Israeli air strikes beginning on July 12 have killed at least 60 Lebanese this week, and wounded more than 150. The strategic bombing struck at the infrastructure of the country: disabling power plants, destroying bridges, and severing major highways. Meanwhile from their quarters in Lebanon, Hezbollah guerillas launched a series of rocket attacks on targets inside Israel.
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Code: ZE06071308
Date: 2006-07-13
Nuncios in Lebanon, Israel Voice Hopes
TEL AVIV, Israel, JULY 13, 2006 (Zenit.org).-The apostolic nunciatures in Lebanon and Israel are anxiously following the escalation of violence in the two countries, which has already claimed 50 lives.
Archbishop Antonio Franco, apostolic nuncio in Israel, told the Italian episcopate's SIR news agency that he hopes "wisdom will prevail" at this time.
For his part, Archbishop Luigi Gatti, apostolic nuncio in Lebanon, explained to the same news agency that it is a "conflict we do not want" and ruled out the possibility of "any internal mediation by the Church."
Both Vatican Radio and the SIR news agency reported commentaries from Franciscan Father David Jaeger, a Middle East expert.
"The only way out is peace, which, as the Pope said at the Angelus on June 29, needs the generous contribution of the international community," Father Jaeger stressed.
"It is important that the new crisis in the north does not distract attention from the present phase of the original conflict, that of Israelis and Palestinians, which is also experiencing a prolonged dramatic moment, and in regard to which one does not even hear talk of a 'peace process,'" he concluded.
http://www.zenit.org/english/
Flames rise from fuel tanks at Beirut's international airport after the second of two attacks on the airport Thursday.
The airstrikes came after Israel's Cabinet authorized a "severe and harsh" response to the Wednesday kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas.
Smoke billows from the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut following the first Israeli airstrikes on Thursday. The Lebanese health ministry says dozens of people had been killed since Wednesday in Israeli strikes. Israeli fighter jets bombed all three runways at the airport, located in Beirut
