Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has released a statement expressing his shock and assuring the Jewish community of his prayers after the terror attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester earlier today (2 October).
“The killing of two Jewish worshippers, the injuries inflicted on others, and the attempt to drive a car into a crowd in Manchester today are expressions of utter hatred that must not be tolerated in this land. That such an attack is directed at the Jewish community, and on Yom Kippur, this most solemn of days, shocks me to the core.
“Jewish and Christian people are closely bound together in our common faith in God. Indeed, in the Catholic tradition, Jewish people are held to be the ‘elder brothers’ in faith of our Christian family. My prayers, and those of the Catholic community, are heartfelt and profound: for those who have died, the bereaved, the injured, and those who will feel less safe tonight.
“It is a duty of us all to work together to ensure a more cohesive and respectful society, one in which such violence and inhumanity have no place.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Westminster
President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
The local bishop, Bishop John Arnold of Salford, and the Lead Bishop for Interreligious Dialogue, Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham, have released statements on the attack.
Bishop Arnold’s statement on the Manchester Synagogue attack
Bishop McKinney deeply shocked and saddened by Synagogue attack
