Pope Francis offers consolation and prayers to victims of Sydney attack
Vatican news
In a telegram signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack in a shopping center in Sydney, Australia, which left six people dead. He assures the victims of his prayers and his spiritual closeness.
By Vatican News
In a telegram signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, addressed to Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Pope Francis expressed his deep sadness upon learning of the violent attack in Sydney, Australia, against a local shopping center, during which six people were stabbed to death.
Assuring his “spiritual closeness to all those affected by this senseless tragedy” and in particular to those mourning the loss of a loved one, the Pope offered his prayers for the dead, the injured and the first responders. In the telegram, he “invokes upon the nation the divine blessings of consolation and strength.”
The victims
Local police told Australian media that the victims at Westfield shopping center in Bondi Junction were a man and five women, including the mother of a nine-month-old baby who was injured and taken in serious condition to hospital where he then underwent surgery. The perpetrator of the attack was a man in his forties known to the police and who is waiting to be formally identified. Law enforcement officials believe the act was not motivated by an ideological or terrorist motive, although investigations continue.
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