French Clergy Call for Day of Fasting after Priest is Murdered

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Jul 27, 2016

French Clergy Call for Day of Fasting after Priest is Murdered

After a French priest was murdered as he attended mass, French Catholic Bishops are calling for a day of fasting.

According to ChristianToday.com, two assailants attacked and killed the 86-year-old priest Jacques Hamel in Normandy while he attended mass. The two assailants were shot and killed by police.

"I invite all the Catholics of France to participate in a day of fasting and prayer for our country and for peace in the world this Friday," said Msgr Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, secretary general of the French Bishops Conference.

"A priest is a symbol of peace and fraternity, and he was an old priest, more than 50 years as a priest in France, so...we are sad and we are shocked by this,” Dumas continued.

Dumas went on to urge people to come together and not allow differences to end up creating violence. 

“We want to maintain and develop dialogue between the different people in our country. We need peace, we need fraternity, we need to build a society where people love each other, and we will continue this path,” he said. “The Catholic Church in France wants that...We should see the horizon, the horizon of peace, of joy, brotherhood and prayer. We are rooted in our faith and in Christ and we believe that evil and violence will not have the upper hand."

Pope Francis has also responded to the tragedy, condemning “every form of hatred.”

Publication date: July 27, 2016



French Clergy Call for Day of Fasting after Priest is Murdered