UNITED NATIONS, March 16 (UPI) -- The Vatican's top United Nations diplomat has called for the destruction of the Islamic State by military force.
The blunt endorsement of international military action by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Vatican envoy to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, is unusual; the Vatican has generally opposed Middle East military involvement, including condemnations of both wars since the 1990s led by the United States.
"We have to stop this kind of genocide. Otherwise we'll be crying out in the future about why we didn't so something, why we allowed such a terrible tragedy to happen," Tomasi told the Catholic news website Crux.
He added a military confrontation with IS should include Muslim countries of the Middle East, and should be developed under the direction of the United Nations and its Security Council. Tomasi's comments follow those of Pope Francis, who said a use of force against IS would be "legitimate...to stop an unjust aggressor."
The interview came as a paper he co-wrote for the United Nations was released; "Supporting the Human Rights of Christians and Other Communities, Particularly in the Middle East," which recommends an increase in international humanitarian aid to refugees from conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
