Cardinal Pietro Parolin Reacting to a recent video in which the Vatican and the Pope were threatened by ISIS, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said it represented “senseless hatred”.
The Vatican obviously is concerned about terrorist threats and will continue to remain vigilant according to the Vatican Secretary of State.
Cardinal Parolin said he had seen the most recent video attributed to ISIS in which the Pope and Vatican are threatened, saying “one cannot help but be concerned”.
However he did not believe the video prompted extra security measures beyond those that have been in place for some time.
For the Year of Mercy 2015-2016, the main boulevard leading to St Peter’s Square was closed to traffic; it never reopened.
Pilgrims approaching St Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ weekly General Audience on Wednesdays and his Angelus address on Sundays have already been subjected to security checks. Italian police are reportedly taking more time doing checks after Barcelona’s terrorist attack in mid-August.
Cardinal Parolin spoke to journalists in Rimini, Italy, where he was addressing a large summer meeting sponsored by the lay movement Communion and Liberation.
Cardinal Parolin expressed surprise at how much of the current debate in many countries “is focused on defending ourselves from migrants”.
The public discussions and arguments show a “sharp division between those who recognise God in the poor and needy and those who do not recognise him,” the cardinal said.
Government leaders certainly have an obligation to find alternatives to “massive and uncontrolled migration, and to establish programmes that avoid disorder and the infiltration of the violent,” he said.