Bishop Declan Lang, Chairman of the International Affairs Department of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, sent a message to the Al-Khoei Foundation, the organisers of a special ceremony in London to remember victims of recent terrorist attacks throughout the world, in particular the horrific massacre of worshippers at Sayedat al Nejat Church (Our Lady of Salvation) in Baghdad on Sunday 31 October.
Bishop Declan said:
“Although I regret I am unable to be with you at this commemoration ceremony, I want to add my prayers and condolences to those being offered for all the victims of hatred, discrimination and intolerance who have suffered in the past few weeks, let alone months and years, and particularly those who perished in the recent massacre at our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad.
“The presence here of so many people from different traditions, adding their prayers for the men, women and children killed in Iraq, is itself a powerful faith-centred sign that love will ultimately triumph over hatred and that we will not allow ourselves to be divided by those who seek to pit the faiths against each other. On behalf of my fellow Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, I want to express my appreciation for the solidarity you have shown with all those who have experienced persecution because of their beliefs.”
The commemoration ceremony took place on Saturday 13 November 2010 at the Al-Khoei Foundation in London.
Organisations participating included:
Imam Al-Khoei Foundation, Syriac Orthodox Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East, Assyrian General Conference, Greek Catholic Church of Lebanon, Awareness Foundation, Supreme Shiite Islamic Council of Lebanon and Leicester Central Mosque.
