ROME – A growing rift between the Vatican and Israel was exacerbated 14 February, when the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See hit back against a top Vatican official who said the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza is disproportionate.
On the margins of a 13 Feb. event commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Lateran Pacts, which regularised the relationship between the Holy See and the new Republic of Italy in 1929, the Vatican Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told reporters that it’s time for Israel to change its strategy in Gaza.
