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Pope Francis grieves for Jewish victims in Pittsburgh shooting
Leading prayers for the victims, he denounced the "inhuman act of violence" and prayed for an end to the "flames of hatred" that fuelled it.
Pope Francis has denounced the “inhuman act of violence” which saw 11 people killed in a Pittsburgh synagogue during a Shabbat service.
Grieving with Pittsburgh‘s Jewish community, he said he was also praying for an end to the “flames of hatred” that fuelled it.
Francis led prayers for Pittsburgh on Sunday in St Peter’s Square, a day after a gunman who had expressed hatred of Jews opened fire in the synagogue during Sabbath services, killing 11 people.
Francis prayed for the dead, the injured and their families, saying that “all of us are wounded by this inhuman act of violence”.
He prayed for God “to help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies”.
Francis has frequently spoken out against religiously-inspired violence and has denounced the easy availability of guns, calling arms manufacturers the “merchants of death”.
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