An Israeli army strike on the only Catholic church in Gaza last week has pushed the Vatican to change its tone on Israel and ...

Pope Leo XIV on Monday spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who called the pope to discuss the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.

Abbas telephoned the pope July 21 “concerning recent developments in the conflict in the Gaza Strip and violence in the West Bank,” the Vatican press office said in a communique.

The “barbarity of war” and forced displacement of people have to end, and civilians and places of worship have to be ...