Recently, the world learned of the attack and murder of an 84-year-old French priest, Father Jacques Hamel, by a radicalized Muslim man. This gruesome act was nothing less than diabolical. The perpetrator even used nuns as human shields to try to escape the police. It is the work of the devil when people use religion to murder.
As new waves of terrorist attacks grip our world, we can often feel hopeless. We wonder how such people lose sight of the fact that we share a common humanity. In his closing homily at World Youth Day in Poland, Pope Francis encouraged the youth to “believe in a new humanity, one that rejects hatred between peoples…”
Most of us do not have influence over political policies that may lead to the quelling of international terrorism. We are common folk who quietly go about our daily lives. But we can do our part by resisting hatred and spreading love. We can reject divisive language; we can reach out to those who are marginalized; we can reach across the aisle to people of different faiths to work for the common good.
There is always light in the midst of darkness, and there was a glimmer of hope and healing two weeks ago when many Muslims across France attended Mass as a sign of solidarity with Catholics who are still reeling from FatherHamel’s murder. Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen, France, said, “We’re very touched. It is important gesture of fraternity.” In reparation for Father Hamel’s murder, let us all work for peace by expressing gestures of fraternity in our daily lives.
