Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Churches in France express solidarity and compassion in light of the brutal killing of Father Jacques Hamel.
A priest was killed and another person seriously injured when two members from an Islamic extremist group stormed the Church of Saint-Etienne du Rouvray in Normandy, France, on July 26. The assailants slit the throat of Father Jacques Hamel, who was 85 years old.
In response, the Union of Federations of the Adventist Church in France (UFA) issued the following statement:
"Faced with such a barbarity in a place of worship, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in France, wants to express solidarity and compassion.
When a (Catholic) Church is desecrated, it is the believers who are suffering. Churches and places of worship are spaces of peace, prayer, sharing and refuge.
This escalation of brutality and heinous crimes committed by humans against other human is unjustifiable.
Despite all legitimate feelings of sadness and revolt, we must always continue to fight evil with good, and act for peace. We pray that God may change our hearts and minds.
The Adventist Church encourages its members to respect the dignity of all men, according to the gospel of Jesus Christ."
