Muslims and Catholics unite in solidarity after ISIS kills French priest
1 Aug 2016 1:50 PM IST1 Aug 2016 1:50 PM IST
Pope Francis, on the plane back to Rome after a trip to Poland, said Islam could not be equated with terrorism.
Muslims attended Catholic mass in churches around France on Sunday in solidarity and sorrow following the brutal murder of a priest, the latest in a string of attacks.- Iman Sami Salem and Imam Mohammed ben Mohammed stand during a mass in the Church Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome.
- Notre Dame church in southwestern Bordeaux also welcomed a Muslim delegation, led by the city's top imam, Tareq Oubrou.
- Many were moved to tears during the sign of peace, a regular part of the liturgy when the faithful turn to greet each other in the pews, either shaking hands or kissing.
- At the Saint Leger church in the northern city of Lens, around 30 Muslims attended mass wearing T-shirts emblazoned with messages such as, Terrorism has no religion or identity'.
- A woman wearing a beige headscarf who sat in a back pew at a church in central Paris said, I'm a practising Muslim and I came to share my sorrow and tell you that we are brothers and sisters.'
- Muslims were responding to a call by the French Muslim council CFCM to show solidarity and compassion' over the priest's murder.
- More than 100 Muslims were among the 2,000 faithful who packed the 11th-century Gothic cathedral of Rouen, near the Normandy town where two jihadi teenagers slit the throat of 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel.
Muslims attended Catholic mass in churches around France on Sunday in solidarity and sorrow following the brutal murder of a priest, the latest in a string of attacks.
Pope Francis, on the plane back to Rome after a trip to Poland, said Islam could not be equated with terrorism.
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