Reactions to the apparent terror attack in France that left a Catholic priest dead are coming in, with one lawmaker calling it "barbarism."
"This is the face of evil," Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said of the attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy, France.
"To invade a sanctuary open to all — a place of worship and refuge — to kill and terrorize innocent people who devoted their lives to the teachings of Christ lays bare the barbarism of radical jihadism. I am outraged for the families of the victims, for our ally France, for the Catholic Church, and for humanity."
Cotton added the west needs to keep fighting the Islamic State (ISIS), which claimed responsibility for the attack, "and put an end to this madness."
Two attackers reportedly entered a church during mass Monday morning, took hostages, and slit the throat of the 86-year-old priest before they were shot and killed by police forces.
French President François Hollande called for the terrorist attacks, which have been occurring in Europe on a regular basis in recent weeks, to be stopped.
"We must realize that the terrorists will not give up until we stop them," Hollande said, reports
The New York Times.
"It is our will. The French must know that they are threatened, that we are not the only country — Germany is, as well as others — and that their strength lies in their unity."
Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, asked for prayers in the wake of the attack.
"Informed of the hostage-taking in the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, which has caused the death of a priest and in which one of the hostages has been gravely injured, His Holiness Pope Francis assures you of his spiritual closeness and joins in prayer with the suffering of the families and with the pain of the parish and the diocese of Rouen," Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said in a statement from Vatican City.
"He implores God, Father of mercy, to welcome Fr. Jacques Hamel in the peace of His light, and comfort the injured person. The Holy Father is particularly troubled to learn that this act of violence took place in a church, during Mass, a liturgical act that implores of God His peace on earth. He asks the Lord to inspire in all thoughts of reconciliation and fraternity in this new trial, and to extend to everyone the abundance of His blessings."
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, called the attackers "Muslim madmen" in a post on the
Catholic League's website, which discussed the targeting of Catholics in the U.S. as well.
Others reacted to the tragedy on Twitter:
Roma Downey, executive producer of "The Bible:"
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby:
Bishop James D. Conley of the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska:
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