Scottish Catholic Observer

The terrorist attacks on Paris by ISIS militants are part of ‘a Third World War,’ Pope Francis has said. The Pope has also urged all Catholics to pray for the victims of the atrocity, with the Scottish Church answering his call this week, while also sending messages of condolence and friendship to France.

At Masses in Glasgow and Aberdeen, Scots gathered to pray for the victims of the violence in the French capital, which claimed 129 lives. Archbishop Philip Tartaliga of Glasgow says ‘the people of Paris and of all France are in our thoughts and prayers here in Glasgow and throughout Scotland’ and Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh praying for peace.

Speaking on Saturday, the day after the attacks on the French capital, Pope Francis said he didn’t ‘understand, how human beings can do this. I am shaken, pained and am praying.’

“This is a piece of the Third World War,” the Pope said. “There are no justifications for these things.”

The attacks in Paris last Friday—that the French Government said were carried out by three teams of ISIS terrorists—caused the deaths of 129 people and left more than 350 injured, many of them critically. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France, gunmen attacked customers at cafés and restaurants and a team of terrorists gunned down dozens of people at a rock concert.

Speaking after reciting the Angelus prayer on Sunday in St Peter’s Square, the Pope also said that using God’s name to try to justify violence and murder is ‘blasphemy.’

“Such barbarity leaves us dismayed and we ask ourselves how the human heart can plan and carry out such horrible events,” the Pope said.

The attacks, the Holy Father said, were an ‘unspeakable affront to the dignity of the human person.’

The day after the tragedy, Archbishop Tartaglia, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, sent a message of support to Cardinal Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, expressing his ‘sadness at the horrific events which unfolded in Paris.’

Archbishop Cushley said ‘may the victims of the outrageous attacks in Paris rest in peace and may our leaders learn anew the need for peace among all peoples.’

In London, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, defended innocent Muslims against any notion that they might be to blame for the slaughter.

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—This story ran in full in the November 20 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.