Bishop Bosco issues a statement on the Attack in Manchester

Returning from our Diocesan Pilgrimage to Rome, I was deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the violent attack in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. We grieve with the Jewish community at the tragic loss of lives and we hold in prayer those who remain in hospital with serious injuries.

On behalf of the Diocese of Clifton, I wish to express our heartfelt solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters at this time of anguish. An attack carried out in a place of worship, or on a day of sacred observance, wounds not only the immediate victims but the whole fabric of our society.

As Christians, we share with the Jewish people a profound bond of faith and history. A true Christian cannot be an anti-Semite. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community in condemning violence, hatred, and terror in all its forms.

We also keep in our prayers the police, emergency services, and all who responded with courage. In the face of such darkness, we turn to the God of Abraham, the God of life and peace, and pray that He will bring healing, consolation, and the strength to build together a future founded on mutual respect and hope.

I ask that all parishes and schools in our diocese remember in their prayers the victims of this attack, their grieving families, and the Jewish community in Manchester and beyond.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

+Bosco 

Rt Rev Bosco MacDonald
Bishop of Clifton