“UK faith leaders condemn attacks,” from the BBC, with thanks to Granny Weatherwax.
UK religious leaders have issued a rare joint statement condemning Thursday’s “evil terrorist” attacks in London.
Figureheads from the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths each read out parts of the statement.“It is an evil that cannot be justified and that we utterly condemn and reject,” said Sheikh Zaki Dr Badawi, of the Council of Mosques and Imams.
Earlier, Pope Benedict VXI spoke of his “profound sadness” at the “repugnant terrorist actions”…
Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks said the leaders had come together to commemorate the end of World War II and the “courage, commitment and sacrifice by which the evil of Nazism was resisted and ultimately overcome 60 years ago”.
“We stand together now for a further purpose: to express our shared commitment to resisting and overcoming the evil of terrorism,” said Sheikh Dr Badawi. “It is an evil that cannot be justified and that we utterly condemn and reject.”
They were joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Free Churches Moderator Dr David Coffey at Lambeth Palace in London…
In the Vatican City, Benedict XVI called on the faithful to pray for the attackers and told the bombers to “stop in the name of God”.
His comments, during the traditional Sunday blessing in St Peter’s Square, came as prayers for the 49 killed and 700 injured were said across the UK.
The Pope said: “To those who foment feelings of hatred and to those who carry out such repugnant terrorist actions, I say to you: ‘God loves life, which he created, not death. Stop in the name of God’.”…