The Diocese of Nice has posted statements on its website responding to last week’s horrific attack in the basilica in Nice.
One is from the board of directors of the Al Oumma Mosque in Pau (translations below are by Google):
We learn with sadness and dread the attack which once again brought mourning to our country, striking at the heart of the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice. Terrorism has targeted our Catholic friends within a place of worship, a place of peace and meditation, taking the lives of three innocent people.
The Al Oumma Mosque in Pau unreservedly condemns this barbaric act, whatever the motives and whoever the perpetrators are, and supports the families of the victims, the faithful of the church, the inhabitants of Nice as well as ‘to the national community.
These moments of mourning and pain must bring us all together.
A statement was also released by a group of imams and priests from Marseille, who hold regular meetings and discussions, as the website puts it, “to exchange and deepen together around faith, share questions and reflections on beliefs, on current issues of society, on what promotes living together, in diversity and respect for differences”:
We Imams and Priests in Marseille learn with amazement, horror and deep sorrow, the cowardly attack committed against three of our compatriots by a criminal who still claimed to be of the Muslim religion.
We humbly collect ourselves in front of these collected souls, savagely cut down by obscurantism, ignorance and nihilism.
These murders committed at the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice on Thursday, October 29 stunned us and saddened us deeply. With the whole of the national community, we condemn them.
Our most fraternal thoughts go first to the victims of these attacks, to their families and to their bereaved loved ones. We are also of one heart with the Christians of Nice and all the Catholics of our country upset by these attacks committed in a church, a desired and dedicated place for prayer and peace.
This murderous escalation horrifies us and we can only worry about this morbid and extremely anxiety-provoking climate which is taking hold in our society and dangerously eroding our coexistence.
The health crisis is already exhausting us and drawing on our last reserves; and when we expected a glimmer of hope in better days, here is the crime of too much comes to shake us very strongly and painfully.
However, our trust and our hope in Our God, Goodness, Mercy and Love are infinitely great. We are convinced that the will to form society together will prevail over all the sirens of division and chaos.
We make our own the words of Pope Francis and of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, in the document on Human Fraternity, signed in February 2019 : “Faith leads the believer to see in the other a brother to support and love. … We declare – firmly – that religions never incite war and do not invite feelings of hatred, hostility, extremism, nor invite violence or bloodshed ”.
Faced with the violence and terrorism which seem to be repeating themselves, we resolutely decide not to give in to fear, division or hatred. We commit ourselves with so many men and women of good will, believers, agnostics or atheists, to build a life together.
We want to continue moving forward with one another, united in brotherhood, in respect and in faith in God.
