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.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]
www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the
copyright owner.
