Pope Francis is grieving with Pittsburgh’s Jewish community following the massacre at a synagogue in the US state.
He denounced the “inhuman act of violence” and prayed for an end to the “flames of hatred” that fuelled it.
Francis led prayers for Pittsburgh on Sunday in St Peter’s Square, a day after a gunman who had expressed hatred of Jews opened fire in the synagogue during Sabbath services, killing 11 people.
Francis prayed for the dead, the injured and their families.
He said that “all of us are wounded by this inhuman act of violence”.
He prayed for God “to help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies”.
Francis has frequently spoken out against religiously-inspired violence and has denounced the easy availability of guns, calling arms manufacturers the “merchants of death”.
