Pope condemns ‘horrible attack’ on Paris magazine

VATICAN CITY, (AFP) — Pope Francis strongly condemned the “horrible attack” against a French satirical weekly Wednesday that left 12 people dead, his spokesman said.

“The Holy Father expresses the strongest condemnation for the horrible attack that plunged the city of Paris into mourning,” Federico Lombardi said in a statement.

The pontiff also issued a plea “to oppose, by all means, hatred and all forms of physical or moral violence that destroy human life or violate a person’s dignity”.

“Homicidal violence, whatever the motivation, is abominable, it is never justified, the life and dignity of all must be guaranteed,” Francis added in his statement.

Shouting “Allahu akbar”, two heavily-armed men stormed the Paris headquarters of a satirical weekly, killing people in cold blood in the worst attack on French soil in decades.

The weekly received several threats after publishing cartoons of the Muslim prophet but was also a constant critic of the Roman Catholic Church and its leader.

Link to article: Jamaica Observer