Muslims, Jews and Christians were among the thousands who attended the public funeral of ISIS-slain Fr Jacques Hamel on Tuesday.
The requiem Mass, was led by the city of Rouen’s archbishop, Dominique Lebrun and afterwards Father Hamel was interred with a private burial ceremony.
The archbishop told mourners that after his throat was slit, Hamel pushed one of his attackers with his feet, saying: “Get away, Satan.”
At the funeral Hamel’s sister, Roselyne, told the congregation her brother had been a man of “mercy and love.
She said Father Hamel’s message to everyone would be: “Let us learn to live together. Let us be the workers and artisans of peace, each one in his own way.”
The marked difference between ISIS members and other Muslims was also evident at Mass last Sunday, attended by hundreds of Muslims in both Italy and France.
In an unusual joint statement, a group of more than 40 Muslim professionals said French Muslims must move from the shadows to front and center, and take action because those representing Islam have lost touch with the young.
“We were silent because we learned that in France religion is a private affair,” the signers wrote, referring to the secular values France prizes and the French model of integration by which citizens forego their cultures of origin for Frenchness.
“Now we must speak because Islam has become a public affair and the current situation is intolerable.”
Source
- Breitbart
- NZ Herald
- RadioNZ
- The Guardian
- Image: VoaNews
