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Pope: Terrorist attacks aim to undermine interfaith dialog

Thursday, 05 November 2020 7:29 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 05 November 2020 7:29 AM ]

This photo, taken and handed out by the Vatican Media on June 3, 2020, shows Pope Francis holding a weekly, live-streamed, private audience from the library of the apostolic palace in the Vatican. (Via AFP)

Pope Francis says the latest wave of deadly terrorist attacks across Europe is aimed at undermining dialog between religions.

“In these days in which we pray for the deceased, let us remember the helpless victims of the terrorism that has led to an escalation of cruelty that is spreading in Europe,” the Pope said during his weekly audience on Wednesday.

Citing the recent terrorist attacks in the French city of Nice and the Austrian capital of Vienna, Pope Francis said the attacks had “caused dismay and outrage among the population and among those who care about peace and dialog.”

The pontiff said the terrorist attacks aimed to “compromise fraternal collaboration between religions through violence and hatred.”

At least four people were killed and 15 were wounded when a gunman went on a shooting spree in Vienna on Monday evening before being shot dead by police.

Daesh claims responsibility for Vienna attacks

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claims responsibility for the recent deadly shooting attacks in the Austrian capital of Vienna, which left four people dead and nearly two dozen others injured.

The shootings took place in six different locations in central Vienna, with Austrian authorities not ruling out the possibility that more shooters may have been involved.

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the shootings.

Separately, a knife-wielding man killed three people in a terrorist attack in Nice last week.