Moscow, October 30, 2020
Photo: nyt.com
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia expressed condolences yesterday to President Emanuel Macron of France and Bishop André Marceau of Nice of the Catholic church for those slain and injured in the knife attack at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice on Thursday.
His messages, published on the site of the Moscow Patriarchate, read in full:
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To His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic
Your Excellency, dear Mr. President!
I was deeply saddened by the news of the death and injury of parishioners of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Nice at the hands of the man who attacked them with a knife. I deeply empathize with you and the whole of the French people in this difficult hour.
Monstrous crimes committed with the blasphemous use of religious slogans will not be able to shake the people’s desire for a peaceful life or force them to follow the evil will of criminals and recognize the inhumane ideology of cruelty and violence as the norm.
I express my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims. I pray to the Merciful Lord for the speedy recovery of the wounded and their rehabilitation after this ordeal.
With deep condolences,
+KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
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To His Eminence, the Right Reverend André Marceau, Bishop of Nice
Your Eminence!
I was deeply saddened by the news of the terrible crime committed within the walls of the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Nice—the brutal attack on parishioners by a radical extremist, which caused death and injury.
I would like to express my sincere condolences to you, the clergy, and the faithful of the Diocese of Nice, and the relatives and friends of the dead and injured.
May the Lord, Who said, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (Jn. 11:25), grant rest to the soul of those slain in the mansions of the righteous and grant comfort to all those who are grieving.
With sincere condolences,
+KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
