Crimeupdated 1h ago3 min read
MapPope León XIV Urges Prayers After Terrorist Attack on Saint George Church in Hamud, Jordan
“It is a criminal, dark, spiteful, Daesh-style attack”
“There was no immediate claim of responsibility”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Nine killed and about 40 injured in Orthodox Church attack in Karak's Hamoud. Pope León XIV urged prayers for victims and called for dialogue and religious coexistence.
Pope prays after Jordan attack
Pope León XIV urged prayers for the victims of the terrorist attack on an Orthodox church in Jordan, which left at least nine dead and about 40 injured.
León XIV said from the window of the Apostolic Palace, "I assure my prayers for all those who died and were injured on Friday in the terrorist attack against the faithful of the Holy Church of Saint George in Hamud, Jordan," and he highlighted the importance of coexistence among religions.
León XIV added, "Never before today is it evident that wars, in addition to sowing death and destruction, impoverish and harm the world. May the Lord inspire decisions of dialogue and peace," during the Angelus prayer.
The pope also referenced a possible South American tour that would include a visit to Argentina on November 8, while his doctors discouraged helicopter travel due to the short time since surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung for an adenocarcinoma.
Jordan mourns, attackers sought
Crowds gathered in Jordan to bury eight of the nine people killed in a church shooting that wounded 40 others, as authorities continued searching for the attackers. Sayel al-Khaitan, a doctor who was inside St George's Church in Jordan's Hammoud when the attack began during a funeral, described it as "a criminal, dark, spiteful, Daesh-style attack" and said, "It was likely that we would have fallen as martyrs in the massive attack, but, by a miracle, we survived".
Jordan's Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya said the attackers were extremists and that they were still on the run, while Father Yohanna Hamati told AFP that mourners were "hunting people" and that "Nothing like it has ever happened, neither to a church nor to a mosque." Jordanian authorities also reported that bells rang in unison across the country, and the ninth victim, Mohammed al-Qasous, was set to be buried on Monday, according to his family.
Funerals, security, and response
Jordan held funeral ceremonies for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Church of Saint George in the village of Hamoud in Karak Governorate, with ceremonies beginning at 1 p.m. and processions departing from several churches before heading to the burial site. Jordanian authorities said the death toll rose to 9 after two more people died from injuries sustained in the attack, which occurred during a funeral ceremony on Friday, and Public Security Directorate said the identities of the perpetrators had not yet been determined.
King Abdullah II chaired a security meeting and instructed security agencies to respond firmly and pursue those responsible, while he also visited the wounded at Prince Ali bin Al Hussein Hospital and said, "The blood of Jordanians is precious, and we will strike with an iron hand against anyone who insults this country," according to PETRA. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said in a post on X that the attack was "a result of a terrorist ideology and blind extremism, and we will not allow society to go down this path," as security was stepped up at malls, foreign embassies, and other locations across Jordan.