‘No more violence’ pleas Pope after antisemitic terror in Sydney

‘This blind prejudice and hatred points to a dark and destructive stain in our society which threatens not just our Jewish brothers and sisters but all of us,’ said Archbishop Timothy Costelloe.

Pope Leo demanded an end to antisemitic attacks as he prayed for the victims of the shooting in Sydney.

“No more of these forms of antisemitic violence!” Pope Leo said at an event in St Peter’s on Monday. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts.”

He was speaking after authorities in Australia confirmed that 16 people had died in a terrorist attack on a Hannukah event on Bondi Beach on Sunday, while 25 people were in hospital. One of the dead was a 10-year-old girl and another was a Holocaust survivor.

One of the two alleged gunmen was among the dead, and the other was among the injured. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said security services would investigate their motives and whether they were radicalised by an extremist ideology.

Addressing the groups who donated the Christmas tree and Nativity scene for St Peter’s Square – which he called “signs of hope” – Pope Leo said they should prompt Christians to ask God “to renew in us the gift of peace and of fraternity”.

He offered prayers for “those who suffer from war and from violence”, adding that “in particular today I want to entrust to the Lord the victims of the terrorist massacre committed yesterday against the Jewish community in Sydney”.

The Vatican also sent a telegram to the Archbishop of Sydney Athony Fisher OP saying the Pope was “deeply saddened” by the “horrific attack” and “offers the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all those affected by this senseless act of violence”.

The telegram, signed by the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, expressed the Pope’s “renewed hope that those tempted to violence will undergo conversion and seek the path of peace and solidarity”, and offered his prayers “for the healing of those still recovering as well as consolation for those grieving the loss of a loved one”. He prayed for “the divine blessings of peace and strength upon all Australians”.

In his own statement on Monday, Archbishop Fisher said the attack was the result of “an unspeakable evil that must be repudiated by every Australian”. He condemned “an atmosphere of public antisemitism [that] has festered leading to intimidation, division and the normalisation of incendiary language”.

Fisher cited regular demonstrations close to St Mary’s Cathedral in central Sydney that “perhaps contributed to radicalisation”.

“Any attack on individual Jews is an attack on the whole Jewish community,” he said, “and any attack on the Jewish community is an affront to our way of life as Australians.”

He described his own Jewish ancestry through his great grandmother and the centrality of Jewish identity to the foundations of Christianity, “so, an attack on the Jews is an attack on us all”.

Fisher offered the “prayers and closeness” of Sydney’s Catholic community, which he said “will redouble its efforts to combat antisemitism through education and preaching”.

“We love our Jewish neighbours and friends, and we must do all we can to keep them safe,” he said.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the president of the Australian bishops’ conference Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth said the “scourge of antisemitism” that motivated the attack “calls into question our own understanding of ourselves as Australians”.

“In a country which prides itself on its tolerance and open-hearted hospitality, this blind prejudice and hatred points to a dark and destructive stain in our society which threatens not just our Jewish brothers and sisters but, in fact, all of us,” he said. “Our horror at what has happened must become the source of a determination to turn our backs on all acts of violence and blind hatred.”

Costelloe continued: “We join with all those who condemn such terrible violence and plead with all Australians to reject any impulse towards hatred and violence and instead to recommit ourselves to being peacemakers in our families, among our friends and in our wider society.”

The president of Pax Christi Australia Fr Claude Mostowik MSC issued a statement offering “condolences to the Jewish community and all in the area who have been impacted by this violence”.

“In this instance, we pray especially for the victims of this violence – the dead and the wounded, as well as those who are traumatised by their presence at the scene or those impacted by the events on media,” he said. “We believe that even in the depths of suffering we also encounter the God of peace and justice who also sides with those who are victims in our world. All are precious in the eyes of God who is present in all. ”

In Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland said that “every one of us Christians must do everything in our power to counteract prejudice and hatred towards our Jewish brothers and sisters, or indeed towards any minorities”.

“Jesus came into our world fulfilling the age-old prophecy of Isaiah that the people who walk in darkness have seen a great light,” said Archbishop Martin, during Armagh Cathedral’s annual carol service on Sunday. 

“Jesus came to be the Prince of Peace, and tonight we pray for peace and comfort for all those families who have been bereaved in this awful attack, for those who have been injured, and for the courageous first responders who helped to prevent even more death and destruction.”

The Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols wrote as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales to the Chief Rabbie Ephraim Mirvis, offering “heartfelt sympathy to you and to the entire Jewish community”.

“Such senseless violence is a tragic reminder of the pain that hatred and terror inflict on innocent people, and it is a hurt felt across faiths and nations,” he said. “In this time of grief, I hope you find strength and comfort in the outpouring of solidarity from people of all backgrounds who stand with you against violence and antisemitism.”

Hundreds of people attended prayer vigils in Sydney on Monday, including at the synagogue that many victims of the attack attended. 

This hatred ‘must not be tolerated’ – Cardinal Nichols, Andy Burnham and others on synagogue terror attack

Antisemitism is still going strong – but what is it?

Stay updated — add us as a preferred news source on Google: