Pope Francis Responds to the Paris Attacks
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In the wake of the attacks on Paris, which left more than 120 people dead and hundreds more injured, Pope Francis offered his condolences and forcefully condemned the violence.
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"There is no justification for such things, neither religious nor human," Francis told an Italian television station on Saturday. "This is not human. It is difficult to understand such things, done by human beings."
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A series of shootings and suicide bombings at separate locations around the French capital have stunned world leaders, and Francis encouraged all to pray for those affected by the violence in Paris.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, offered words of comfort to Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris.
"Once again, the Holy Father vigorously condemns violence, which cannot solve anything, and he asks God to inspire thoughts of peace and solidarity in all and to impart on families in this trial and on all of the French people, the abundance of his blessings," Parolin said.
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In a statement, Vatican spokesperson Rev. Federico Lombardi said that such acts of violence cannot deter the Catholic Church from its mission or prevent it from going forward with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, a religious event that begins on December 8.
"If we permit ourselves to be frightened, they have already reached their first objective," he said, adding that "we must be prudent and not irresponsible, taking all reasonable precautions."
