In a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, Pope Francis is being described as “shaken and “saddened” by the terrorist attack on a nightclub in Orlando that left 50 people dead and scores wounded.

Vatican Radio is reporting on the Pope’s reaction to the heartless slaughter in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub which is being described as the worst mass shooting in American history.

“The terrible massacre that has taken place in Orlando, with its dreadfully high number of innocent victims, has caused in Pope Francis, and in all of us, the deepest feelings of horror and condemnation, of pain and turmoil before this new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred,” said Vatican Press Secretary Father Federico Lombardi.

“Pope Francis joins the families of the victims and all of the injured in prayer and in compassion. Sharing in their indescribable suffering he entrusts them to the Lord so they may find comfort. We all hope that ways may be found, as soon as possible, to effectively identify and contrast the causes of such terrible and absurd violence which so deeply upsets the desire for peace of the American people and of the whole of humanity.”

The attack, which occurred early Sunday morning, was perpetrated by a radicalized Muslim named Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida. Mateen entered the Pulse nightclub at around 2:00 a.m. and opened fire with an assault-type rifle and a handgun.

Officials says at least 53 other people were hospitalized and most are in critical condition. A surgeon at Orlando Regional Medical Center says the death toll is likely to climb.

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