Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Francis has asked for prayers for the victim of a bombing in Turkey that killed ten people yesterday.

Nine German tourists and one Peruvian were killed in the suicide bomb attack in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, near the famous Blue Mosque.

Turkish authorities have identified a Syrian who had recently entered the country as the attacker.

“I invite you to pray for the victims of the attack which took place yesterday in Istanbul,” the Pope said during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square. “May God, the merciful, grant eternal peace to the departed, comfort to their families, determined solidarity to the whole society, and convert the hearts of the violent.”

Earlier, the Pope had began a new series of catechesis on mercy from a ‘biblical perspective.’

“In this Jubilee Year, our weekly catechesis will explore the mystery of divine mercy,” he said. “In the Book of Exodus, God Defines himself as the God of mercy. In Which words echo Throughout the Old Testament, he tells Moses That he is ‘the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’

“The Hebrew word for mercy evokes visceral and the tender love of a mother for her child. The God of mercy is also gracious, ever ready to understand and forgive. He is slow to anger, prepared to wait patiently, like a wise farmer, for the seeds of repentance to grow in our hearts.  Likewise, he abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

“God’s love, freely given, precedes any merit on our part; his faithfulness, like that of the father in the parable of the prodigal son, has no limits,” the Pope added. “He waits for us, ever ready to forgive our sins and to welcome us back to a right relationship with him.  In this Year of Mercy, may we turn to God with all our heart, trusting in his mercy and grace, his infinite faithfulness and love.”

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Pic: Police secure the area after a yesterday’s explosion near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The explosion killed at least 10 people, mostly foreigners, and wounded 15 others, officials said