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Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram expressing his condolences to the victims of the recent suicide bombing at a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus that left 25 people dead and more than 60 wounded.
The message, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and sent June 24, came two days after the deadly attack during Divine Liturgy in the Dweila neighborhood.
“His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and destruction caused by the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Mar Elias in Damascus,” the telegram reads. “He expresses heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy.”
According to Syrian officials, the attacker — identified as a member of the Islamic State — entered the church with a firearm and an explosive vest, CatholicVote reported. After opening fire on worshipers, he detonated the device inside the sacred space. Syrian media reported that he also hurled a grenade into the congregation before the explosion.
“In commending the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of our Heavenly Father,” the telegram continued, “His Holiness likewise prays for those who mourn their loss, for the recovery of the injured, and invokes the Almighty’s gifts of consolation, healing and peace upon the nation.”
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CatholicVote reported that Sunday’s bombing fits into a wider pattern of violence targeting Christians and minorities in Syria, a trend that Church leaders in the region have condemned as a “dangerous escalation.” No group has formally claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State has been linked by Syria’s Interior Ministry.
In response to the attack, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land voiced “profound shock and deep revulsion,” stating that invoking religion to justify the slaughter of innocents “is a grave perversion of all that is holy.”
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