Cardinal Calls Israelis "Baby Killers"--Does this Promote Peace in the Holy Land?

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi: Vatican must clarify his statement

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Vatican Council for Culture, called Israel baby-killers during an interview this week.

Israel National News reported, via Israel Matsav:
"Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Vatican Council for Culture, commenting on the war between Israel and Hamas, delivered a severe attack on the Jewish people: “I think of the ‘massacre of the innocents’. Children are dying in Gaza, their mothers’ shouts is a perennial cry, a universal cry.”

"The Catholic Church high official equated Israel’s operation in Gaza against terror groups with the New Testament story of Herod’s slaughter of Jewish babies in his effort to kill Jesus.

"Ravasi, who is one of the most popular Catholic cardinals and the director of the Church’s policy on culture, called Israelis baby-killers in a shameless form of anti-Semitism which subtly accuses the Jewish State of trying to murder the new Jesus, symbolized by the Palestinian people."

Poorly worded condemnation of parties on either side of the Israeli-Hamas conflict could contribute to a catastrophic devolution of the Middle East into unstoppable violence. Clarification of Ravasi's statement, which could wipe out the gains of Pope Benedict's recent peace-making trip to Lebanon, should be forthcoming from the Vatican without delay.