Pope Francis suggested Sunday that Israel's attacks in Gaza and Lebanon have been “immoral” and disproportionate, saying its military domination has gone beyond the rules of war.
Francis was asked en route home from Belgium about Israel’s targeted killing of one of Hezbollah’s founding members, Hassan Nasrallah. Friday's strike in Beirut targeted an area greater than a city block and reduced several residential buildings to rubble, and at least six other deaths have been confirmed.
Francis didn’t mention Israel by name and said he was speaking in general terms. But he said that “the defense must always be proportionate to the attack.”
“When there is something disproportionate, there is a dominating tendency that goes beyond morality,” he said. “A country that does these things — and I’m talking about any country — in a superlative way, these are immoral actions.”
He said that even if war itself is immoral, there are rules that “indicate some morality.”
“But when you don’t do this … you see the bad blood of these things,” he said.
The death of Nasrallah has sent shockwaves throughout Lebanon and the Middle East, where he has been a dominant political and military figure for more than three decades.
U.S. President Joe Biden said the Israeli strike was a “measure of justice” for victims of Hezbollah’s “reign of terror.”
Francis has tried to strike a balance in his comments on the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the conflicts in Gaza and southern Lebanon that have ensued. He has called for an immediate cease-fire, for the release of hostages taken by Hamas and for humanitarian aid to get to Gaza.
Francis repeated that he calls the Catholic parish in Gaza every day to see how they are doing.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Both the Liberals and Conservatives are claiming a win after the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released an updated report on the economic impacts of the federal carbon tax on Canadian households.
Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the USMCA free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
The northern lights could be visible across most of Canada on Thursday night.
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TD Bank will pay US$3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced Thursday.
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The hosts of ABC's 'The View' clapped back at Donald Trump on Thursday, a day after the Republican nominee for president insulted co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg.
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Several models of Fisher-Price infant swings have been recalled in Canada after the company received reports of fatalities link to affected products.
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he's in favour of mandatory, involuntary drug and psychiatric treatment for kids and prisoners who are found to be incapable of making decisions for themselves.
The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.
Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96.
A congressional candidate who said he was tricked by Democrats into running as a spoiler in a competitive House race in Minnesota suspended his campaign Thursday and endorsed his Republican rival.
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Donald Trump on Thursday again complained about the federal response to natural disasters that have damaged much of the Southeast as he seeks to gain a political advantage from the tropical weather.
Gunmen invaded another town north of Haiti’s capital on Thursday, shooting at people and setting homes on fire, just a week after a massacre killed at least 115 people in the country’s central region. The number of casualties was not immediately known.
Prince William and the Princess of Wales on Thursday carried out their first joint public engagement since the end of Kate's chemotherapy by meeting the bereaved parents of victims of a stabbing rampage in the seaside town of Southport.
Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the USMCA free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
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Bayer must pay US$78 million to a Pennsylvania man who said he got cancer from using the company's Roundup weedkiller, a state court jury in Philadelphia found on Thursday.
For Scarlett Hicks, everyday life is challenging, as the two-year-old lives with a long list of medical conditions.
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Bayer must pay US$78 million to a Pennsylvania man who said he got cancer from using the company's Roundup weedkiller, a state court jury in Philadelphia found on Thursday.
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Former Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green has announced his retirement from the NBA.
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The aurora may be visible in some parts of the Maritimes Thursday night.
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TD Bank will pay US$3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced Thursday.
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Just before 5:00 p.m., police were called to the two vehicle collision on 1st Avenue North between 4th Street and 5th Street NW, in the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie.
A blaze which at its peak reached 20 feet in the air had St. Thomas firefighters busy on Thursday.
Provincial police say seven people are facing charges after a massive grow operation bust outside Orillia, Ont., where over $2 million in cannabis plants were seized.
Police in Barrie are investigating a theft at a convenience store that they say turned violent on Wednesday afternoon.
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Brett Iler has pleaded not guilty to six charges of careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act in a collision that killed two people and injured three others.
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The removal of 13 vehicles and one trailer from the Detroit River in Sandwich Town is complete.
Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.
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Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
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The Interfaith Food Bank is busy preparing Thanksgiving bundles and has some tips for anyone hoping to cut down on their holiday dinner costs.
A weapons complaint that led to the temporary lockdown of two Lethbridge schools Thursday turned out to be no threat, police said in a media release.
Thousands more Lethbridge residents will soon be without a family doctor.
Sault Ste. Marie Police Service said two people were arrested following a heavy police presence on Chapple Avenue on Thursday.
An annual international mining conference is underway in Greater Sudbury, Ont., marking the first time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference of Mining Regions and Cities has been held in North America.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
A Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador says some small towns in his rural riding are overrun with crime, but police say they haven't received reports to that effect.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
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