Bishop Angaelos re killings in France, Tunisia, Kuwait

Comment by His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, following the brutal killings in France, Tunisia and Kuwait on 26 June 2015

The brutal killings in France, Tunisia and Kuwait today show the vulnerability of our humanity, not only in those who died so needlessly and tragically, but also in those who were able to murder so brutally, mercilessly and intentionally. Once again the world witnesses the unnecessary claiming of innocent lives, a now far too familiar yet wholly unacceptable occurrence in the 21^st Century. These horrific events indicate the increasing need for us all to continue to hold ourselves, as well as others, accountable for what we as fellow humans perceive to be the sanctity of human life because such intolerance, hatred and the objectification of others stems from an inability to recognise that shared humanity.

We pray for those whose lives have been taken, as well as for their families and communities, and for all those who will continue to fear and be traumatised by these horrific events. In the spirit of Christian forgiveness we also continue to pray, as we have in the past, for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, that they may one day look upon those they have killed with a sense of remorse and grief, realising that they have deprived their families of a vibrant and beautiful future with them.

May God grant us and the world His peace, strength and healing, that incidents such as these may cease and that, in the interim, we have the strength to continue to speak out and seek a solution, and find an end, to such tragic and needless acts.