Paris attacks
It’s not over yet. Tension remains very high. Alarms are ongoing. France declared three days of national mourning. Yesterday the bells were tolled. A Mass for the victims and for peace was celebrated in the Cathedral of Paris
For 15 long minutes bells were tolled in the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. But it’s not over yet. The manhunt is underway in Paris for terrorists on the run, while the Police have posted on Twitter the picture of key suspect Abdeslam Salah. Tension remains very high. There is constant alarm coupled by panic. France is still grappling with the identification of the corpses. An “unprecedented” task – pointed out Justice Minister Christiane Taubira – that will require some more time, owing to the exceptionally high number of victims and to the rigour that such efforts entail. Italian citizen Valeria Soresin, is among the victims.
But Sunday was also the day of national mourning. It will take time, or perhaps there will never be the time to process such a dramatic choc. Despite the ban on public demonstrations, thousands rallied near the sites of the attacks, bringing flowers, messages and lighting candles. Prayers and bell tolling for the victims took place across all parishes and dioceses in the Country.
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Also Muslims and Jews have gathered in prayer. Yesterday, at 8.00 p.m., a commemorative ceremony and a common prayer were held at the Great Synagogue de la Victoire with the Chief Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia and the Chief Rabbi of Paris Michel Gugenheim.
Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, presided over a Mass celebrated in the cathedral of Paris. Severe security measures are in line with the State of Emergency declared in Paris and throughout the whole Country. The Cathedral could be accessed through a lateral entrance, and the faithful were invited not to carry bags with them in order to facilitate metal detector controls. However, not everyone managed to enter, and a crowd of people remained outside on the parvis, behind the security barriers. The ceremony was attended by the presidents of the Senate and of the National Assembly, the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, the former President of France Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, representatives of different religions.
“48 hours have passed. Paris has experienced one of the most dramatic and critical moments in its history.”
These were the Cardinal’s opening words, welcoming the faithful and the political and religious dignitaries. In his homily, the archbishop voiced the questions hovering over the entire Country in these hours of fear and terror. “How is it possible that young people educated in our schools and raised in our cities experience such a strong feeling of discomfort as to decide to join the spectre of the Caliphate, thereby considering its moral and social violence as an ideal to die for?” He continued:
“What is it about our lifestyles that could have triggered such barbaric attacks?”
Once the panic is over, once the emergency-situation is over, France and Europe as a whole will have to give an answer to these questions, because if the Caliphate manages to strike against our cities it’s because it captured the hearts and minds of our youths. The archbishop challenged the Catholic faithful “to be messengers of hope within the heart of human suffering, through words and actions.” The Jubilee of Mercy, that will also take place in this land scarred with innocent blood, represents an opportunity for self-examination, seeking to identify a change in direction.
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