Pope Francis Made 'Compassionate, Loving' Phone Call To James Foley's Parents
Pope Francis made a phone call Thursday to express his condolences to the mourning parents of James Foley, the American photojournalist who was recently executed by Islamic State militants in Iraq.
In his phone call that took place at 3 p.m. Thursday, Francis reportedly spoke for 20 minutes via translator about the parents' loss and offered his sympathy to the couple, who live in Rochester, New Hampshire. A family friend of the Catholic couple said Francis delivered a heartfelt talk to the Foley family.
"He was very compassionate, very loving," the friend, Father Marc Montminy of St. Michael's Church in Exeter, N.H., told the New York Daily News.
Foley's parents delivered a press conference regarding their son's death earlier this week, saying in a statement that the family "[thanks] Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person."
John Foley, James' father, added in a statement that it "haunts me how much pain he was in, and how cruel the method of execution is. He was courageous to the end."
The family will reportedly be holding a mass for "healing, hope and peace" in their hometown of Rochester this weekend.
The Islamic State jihadist group released a gruesome video this past week showing the beheading of Foley, an American photojournalist who had been working for international media outlets when he was kidnapped in Syria in 2012.
In the video, the Islamic State terrorists demanded that the U.S. immediately stop its airstrikes in Iraq or face more executions of its citizens. President Obama responded by saying the U.S. will not ease its airstrikes on Islamic State militants, describing the al-Qaeda offshoot as a "cancer" that must be stopped.
