Faith Leaders Call for More Security Following Church Attack
- By Sydny Shepard
- Jul 27, 2016
Representatives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist faiths spoke out about the security at churches in France following the murder of an elderly priest in Normandy on Tuesday.
Father Jacques Hamel was killed while conducting morning mass in his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen, just 12 days after the attack in Nice in which 84 people died.
Both men responsible for the attack were killed by police responding to calls of an attack at the church. One has been named publically as Adel Kermiche, 19. Kermiche had tried to reach Syria twice to fight with ISIS.
Muslim leader Dalil Boubakeur, rector of Paris’ Grand Mosque, said the leaders, “deeply desire that our places of worship are the subject of greater security focus, a sustained focus,” as even “the most humble place of worship” can be subject to an attack.
The Archbishop of Paris, Andre Vingt-Trois, praised the relations between France’s religious, calling the relationships “harmonious.”
"We must not let ourselves get pulled in to Daesh's political games," Vingt-Trois said, using a pejorative term for IS, saying it wanted "to set children of the same family against each other".
President Francois Hollande has also been chairing meetings of his security and defense council and his cabinet.
About the Author
Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.