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On Sunday morning, January 28th, the Congregation of the Church of the Nativity of Mary in a suburb of Istanbul, Turkey at the moment of the Sanctus, during Holy Mass two armed people entered, firing several gunshots in the air. The attack on the Church in Istanbul, left one person dead, identified as Tuncer Cihan - a male, aged 52, with mental disabilities. The two attackers were arrested as they tried to escape. Bishop Palinuro, Vicar of Anatolia notes that the government arrested 25 terrorists who wanted to attack churches and synagogues, but "they did not warn us".
SEE ALSO: https://www.catholicnewsworld.com/2024/01/breakingnews-52-year-old-man-killed-at.html
The Catholic community "is terrified, shocked’, by this attack, which seems to be "clearly religious motivated,” said Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul, Bishop Massimiliano Palinuro speaking to AsiaNews.
This “act of terrorism [is] linked to Islamic fundamentalism," he added, as evinced "by the videos and testimonies collected so far", and from online claims.
Tensions and a climate of fear have resulted since the Franciscan Church of Santa Maria, the only Roman Rite parish in the Strait, was attacked yesterday morning during Mass. Built in 1864-1866, it is located in Sariyer.
Two men affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) are thought to be responsible, as investigators had initially suggested yesterday.
The jihadi group claimed responsibility for the operation in a post on its Telegram channel.
About 40 people were present at the Mass, while the victim was a man called Tuncer Cihan, who was attending the service.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that all "necessary measures" would be taken to punish the perpetrators.
"The pope's words at the Angelus have been a great encouragement and comfort to the local Catholic community,” Bishop Palinuro said. “Next week we will be in Rome for the ad limina visit and, probably, this will also be discussed.”
Terrorists, he noted, "are usually unable or unwilling to make distinctions between the West, Israel, Christianity, and the Catholic Church. Paradoxically, Christian sites are being targeted, when Christians in Gaza are, along with Muslims, victims of attacks by Israeli troops.”
For this reason, the attack claimed by the Islamic State against the Church of Santa Maria "could also be a sort of retaliation for the burning of the Qurʾān.”
"We leave it to the investigators to get to the truth. We have confidence in the Turkish judiciary and police forces, so we expect justice to be done for the good of everyone, for the honour of this noble nation, and for the good of Christian communities that have inhabited it for two thousand years."
Image -- Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Catholic community "is terrified, shocked’, by this attack, which seems to be "clearly religious motivated,” said Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul, Bishop Massimiliano Palinuro speaking to AsiaNews.
This “act of terrorism [is] linked to Islamic fundamentalism," he added, as evinced "by the videos and testimonies collected so far", and from online claims.
Tensions and a climate of fear have resulted since the Franciscan Church of Santa Maria, the only Roman Rite parish in the Strait, was attacked yesterday morning during Mass. Built in 1864-1866, it is located in Sariyer.
Two men affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) are thought to be responsible, as investigators had initially suggested yesterday.
The jihadi group claimed responsibility for the operation in a post on its Telegram channel.
About 40 people were present at the Mass, while the victim was a man called Tuncer Cihan, who was attending the service.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that all "necessary measures" would be taken to punish the perpetrators.
"The pope's words at the Angelus have been a great encouragement and comfort to the local Catholic community,” Bishop Palinuro said. “Next week we will be in Rome for the ad limina visit and, probably, this will also be discussed.”
Terrorists, he noted, "are usually unable or unwilling to make distinctions between the West, Israel, Christianity, and the Catholic Church. Paradoxically, Christian sites are being targeted, when Christians in Gaza are, along with Muslims, victims of attacks by Israeli troops.”
For this reason, the attack claimed by the Islamic State against the Church of Santa Maria "could also be a sort of retaliation for the burning of the Qurʾān.”
"We leave it to the investigators to get to the truth. We have confidence in the Turkish judiciary and police forces, so we expect justice to be done for the good of everyone, for the honour of this noble nation, and for the good of Christian communities that have inhabited it for two thousand years."
Source: Edited from Asia News IT and Vatican News
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