\u201cThe Holy See\u2019s position is clear: The two-state solution, based on secure and internationally recognized borders, is the only viable and equitable path toward a just and lasting peace,\u201d Cardinal Pietro Parolin<\/a> told world leaders and top diplomats at high-level meetings during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.<\/p>\n The two-state solution is a proposed peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by creating two separate, independent countries within the former British territory of Mandatory Palestine: Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people, and Palestine for the Palestinian people in a state based on the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel seized the latter territories from Egypt and Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War, which began June 5 with an Israeli surprise attack on Egypt\u2019s air force. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing since the mid-20th century, and multiple efforts for peace have hit stumbling blocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Gaza Strip has a population of 2.1 million Palestinians living within a swatch of land 25 miles long and 6 miles wide along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Another 3.4 million Palestinians also live in the Israel-occupied West Bank, where 450,000 Israeli settlers have increasingly set up communities considered illegal under international law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Holy See continues to uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,\u201d said Cardinal Parolin.<\/p>\n Considering the Palestinian future<\/p>\n These inalienable rights include their right to self-determination, according to the cardinal. The Holy See also called attaining \u201cfreedom, security and dignity within an independent and sovereign state\u201d a \u201clegitimate aspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n Cardinal Parolin said the 2025 resolution<\/a> to end the war in the Gaza Strip, which was introduced by President Donald Trump<\/a>, \u201cto consolidate the ceasefire, promote the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, and establish a foundation for a more stable future\u201d was a welcome development.<\/p>\n But, he said, \u201cthese efforts cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader political context. Gaza must be considered in the context of the future of the Palestinian people as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that it would not be enough for the Palestinians to exist on humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts that have been ongoing in Gaza since fighting ignited after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on southern Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shadow of Israel-Hamas war suffering<\/p>\n Israel declared war after the attack, where Hamas militants killed some 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251 hostages. Israel\u2019s subsequent fighting and retaliatory sanctions on Palestinians living in Gaza resulted in humanitarian blockades, which tipped the territory into famine for several months in 2025. Despite a ceasefire in place since October 2025, Israeli forces have continued sporadic attacks on Gaza, killing an additional 1,400 Palestinians and injuring over 4,900 more.<\/p>\n As of Sept. 24, the total death toll from the war in Gaza has reached at least 73,928 Palestinians killed, and 175,030 injured, according to figures reported by Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry.<\/p>\n Cardinal Parolin also highlighted the geographical importance of Jerusalem, the eastern half of which is within the border of the West Bank and which Palestinians wish to be the capital of Palestine. He said it is \u201csacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims alike,\u201d and underscored the Holy See\u2019s \u201clongstanding call for an internationally guaranteed special statute that safeguards its unique character, the holy places and the rights of the faithful of the three monotheistic religions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe task before us is therefore not merely to manage the consequences of conflict, but to address its root causes and create the conditions for a peace that can endure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Importance of preserving human dignity with\u00a0 AI<\/p>\n At another high-level meeting Sept. 23, this time on AI, the cardinal stressed the importance of upholding human dignity in the face of rapid advances in the technology that has been designed to mimic human intelligence to perform tasks such as problem-solving, learning and reasoning.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile technology\u2019s potential to spare human beings from repetitive or burdensome tasks should be acknowledged, it cannot come at the expense of the irreplaceable role of the human person,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cThis is particularly pertinent at a time when technologies are advancing in unpredictable ways, making it difficult to fully assess their long-term impact on human dignity and the common good.\u201d<\/p>\n He said, \u201cThus, for the discernment to be fruitful, it is necessary to embrace the concept of limits, which may initially seem contrary to the very idea of progress. As Pope Leo XIV insists: \u2018Calling for prudence, rigorous evaluation and even, at times, a slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family.’\u201d<\/p>\n Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who arrived in the U.S. Sept. 20, was also set to deliver another address at the United Nations Sept. 26 at a high-level meeting commemorating the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.<\/p>\n Cardinal Parolin: St. Matthew an example for those in public life<\/p>\n On Sept. 21, the cardinal marked the feast of St. Matthew as the principal celebrant of Mass at Church of Our Saviour in New York City, with diplomats and U.N. personnel filling the pews.\u00a0<\/p>\n Concelebrants included Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia el-Kassis, the Holy See\u2019s new permanent observer to the United Nations in New York City, joined in celebrating the Mass, as did Auxiliary Bishop James Massa of Brooklyn, New York, and Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, pastor of the Church of Our Saviour.<\/p>\n In his homily, Cardinal Parolin said St. Matthew, the tax collector turned apostle, serves as an example for all.<\/p>\n \u201cHe decided to follow Christ, no longer tied to his old post,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just as St. Matthew was called by Jesus Christ out of a compromised and widely despised profession to a life of witness to the Gospel, Cardinal Parolin suggested those serving in public life today are called to bring their own vocations, diplomacy, government, service to their nations, into line with a higher purpose.<\/p>\n Simone Orendain<\/a> is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Chicago. Contributing to this story was Steven Schwenkert of The Good Newsroom<\/a>, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"21 NEW YORK (OSV News) \u2014\u00a0The Vatican secretary of state on Sept. 24 reiterated the Holy See\u2019s support…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-627310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260922T1410-TRUMP-UNGA-SPEECH-2026-1826641-1024x682.jpg\")
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, Sept. 22, 2026. (OSV News photo\/Shannon Stapleton, Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260903T1515-AFRICAN-CLERGY-GAZA-GENOCIDE-1825335-972x1024.jpg\")
Smoke rises during an Israeli airstrike in Al-Zawayda, the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 23, 2026, carried out after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the area. (OSV News photo\/Mahmoud Issa, Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260925T1130-PAROLIN-UN-AI-PALESTINE-STATEHOOD-1826856-1024x731.jpg\")
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, approaches the main entrance to the Church of Our Saviour in New York City before celebrating Mass Sept. 21, 2026, the feast of St. Matthew and the International Day of Peace. (OSV News photo\/Gregory A. Shemitz)<\/p>\n