Syria: Bishop says martyrdom of Fr Hamel must not be exploited for political gain

Fr Hamel

The tragic death of Father Jacques Hamel, the elderly French priest murdered while saying Mass in Rouen on Monday, must not be exploited by those who want to stir up anti-Islamic feelings, the Bishop of Aleppo said today.

Fr Hamel's death "belongs to the great history of Christian martyrdom including the recent martyrs of the Eastern Churches," Bishop Georges Abou Khazen OFM, Latin Rite Vicar apostolic of Aleppo said.

Down through the centuries, for Christians, martyrdom has always been considered the greatest act of faith. While they mourned their martyrs, they also celebrated them as Christians who redeem all of us and save the world, because they take upon their shoulders suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus, and doing so they apply to their contemporaries the redemption brought by Christ". For Bishop Georges this event, so close to the mystery of salvation, shall not be disfigured by persons feigning indignation for their own political gain.

"For years, we Bishops in the Middle East have cautioned those western powers which to safeguard their own interests do not hesitate to support those groups of fanatics which pursue jihadist ideologies. Now I see all around ferocious reactions which identify all Islam with these groups, blinded by an ideology of hatred and death which seems to be spreading everywhere along unknown ways. We must be as harmless as doves and astute as serpents , as the Gospel teaches. But astuteness does not consist in letting oneself be contaminated by the poison of the snake."

Source: Fides