Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Francis has urged all Catholics to pray for the ‘Lord to convert the hearts of the violent blinded by hatred’ after a week of shocking violence across Europe.

84 died in the French city of Nice last Thursday after a truck deliberately smashed through a Bastille Day celebration, on Monday in Germany a man with an axe who was affiliated to ISIS attacked dozens on a train, and hundreds were killed during an attempted military coup in Turkey last Friday.

The Holy Father said he wanted to express his ‘closeness’ to the families of the victims and those injured in all terrorist attacks. “Let us pray for them,” he added.

In a specific reference to Nice, the Pope prayed for an end to ‘terror and death’ of innocents as he expressed closeness to families and all of France mourning the loss of lives, ‘even of many children,’ in the Nice lorry attack.

The driver, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, ploughed on for two kilometres on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice before being shot dead by police.

Guns and grenades were found inside the lorry and French President Francois Hollande said the attack was of an ‘undeniable terrorist nature.’

Great sorrow

The Pope told the public in St Peter’s Square last Sunday that ‘sorrow is great in our hearts’ for the massacre in the southern French city last week, and prayed that God sustain the wounded and comfort relatives.

He prayed that God ‘disperse every plan for terror and for death, so that no man dare spill more blood of his brother.’

The Holy Father then offered ‘a paternal and fraternal embrace for all of Nice’s inhabitants and all of France,’ and invited those in the square to join him in silent prayer for the 84 Nice victims and their families.

Pope Francis phoned the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, via Paolo Celi, the head of Amitié France-Italie’, a national association for Italians living in France, to offer his assistance in the aftermath of the attack.

Mr Celi told Vatican Radio that the Pope asked, ‘What can I do for you?’ and the Pontiff also said he would meet with the families of the victims, although Mr Celi said a date for this meeting was not specified. Mayor Etrosi said the Pope’s call has been of comfort to thousands of people in Nice.

“The image of all the flowers, the letters, the toys that have been put on the promenade to pay tribute to the victims is an image that no one will be able to forget, but the Pope’s words and the comfort he brings alleviates this terrible memory and gives strength and hope to all,” the mayor said.

Military coup

In Turkey a senior Church figure has appealed for calm there after hundreds were killed in an attempted military coup.

The apostolic vicar of Anatolia, Bishop Paolo Bizzeti, an Italian Jesuit, called for the use of the ‘weapon of dialogue’ to ‘understand what are the causes of this unease.’

The prelate said that that ‘it is difficult, even for us, to understand the real dimensions of this struggle.’ In recent times, he added, there has been a ‘politics of hate, of confrontation, and this evidently at some point leads to a larger explosion.’

Nearly 500 people died, and thousands more were injured, when senior figures in the Turkish Army attempted to seize control last Friday night. Thousands of soldiers, police and officials have been detained or sacked since the coup attempt.

Axe attack

In Germany, the Bishop of Würzburg said he was ‘speechless’ after a 17-year-old Afghan refugee injured four people on a train in the German city.

Three people from Hong Kong were seriously hurt and another was slightly injured in the axe and knife attack by the teenage refugee, who was subsequently shot dead by police. A further 14 people were treated for shock.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, with the claim posted on the group’s Aamaq news agency on Tuesday. It has been reported that the teenager shouted ‘Allahu akbar’—God is great—and that an ISIS flag was found in his room.

A statement was released on behalf of Bishop Friedhelm Hofmann in which he said: “One is speechless at such a moment. This fact cannot be understood.

“I especially want to thank all those who have intervened in this difficult situation yesterday and helped, including the police and the rescue services,” he added. Bishop Hofmann warned against placing all asylum seekers under general suspicion of carrying out attacks. “Maybe we need to help the unaccompanied young refugees even more and help them to overcome their own traumas,” he said.

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—This story ran in full in the July 22 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.