Ronald Lauder, head of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), met with the Pope on Thursday and asked him to help free the Israeli hostages kidnapped during the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas.
"We ask His Holiness to use his authority to release the hostages," Ronald Lauder told Pope Francis, according to a WJC statement. “You are the only person with the moral authority to do this,” he added.
Ronald Lauder traveled to Rome for the opening of the representative office of the World Jewish Congress in the Vatican. His meeting with Pope Francis was planned even before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict flared up again, the Vatican announced in another statement.
On Sunday, the head of the Catholic Church asked for the release of the hostages and urged the creation of humanitarian corridors to help the people living in the besieged Gaza Strip. Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin announced last week that the Vatican is ready to mediate.
"They are at the center of the concerns of all of us, the Pope and the entire international community. The Holy See is ready for any necessary mediation, as always," said Cardinal Parolin in an interview with Vatican News.
On Monday, the Pope's representative in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, announced that he is ready to offer himself in exchange for the Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas.
MTI
Cover photo: Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress / SOURCE: MTI/BALÁZS MOHAI
