British cardinal shocked by Manchester synagogue attack; prayers pour in for victims

MANCHESTER, England (OSV News) -- As England mourned after an Oct. 2 terror attack on a Manchester synagogue, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of England and Wales bishops' conference, expressed his shock, assuring the Jewish community of his prayers.

The terror attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester killed two Jewish men on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

"The killing of two Jewish worshippers, the injuries inflicted on others, and the attempt to drive a car into a crowd in Manchester today are expressions of utter hatred that must not be tolerated in this land," Cardinal Nichols said in his statement. "That such an attack is directed at the Jewish community, and on Yom Kippur, this most solemn of days, shocks me to the core," he said.

"Jewish and Christian people are closely bound together in our common faith in God," the cardinal added, assuring that his prayers "are heartfelt and profound: for those who have died, the bereaved, the injured, and those who will feel less safe tonight."

The attack, which killed Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, has sent shockwaves across the country, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling it a "horrific" incident that targeted "Jews because they are Jews." Three people remained in the hospital with serious injuries.

The suspected synagogue attacker died after being shot by officers at the scene. Speaking to Sky News, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said suspect Jihad al Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, came to the U.K. as a "small child" and was naturalized as a British citizen while still a child in the mid-2000s.

"As we emerge from the fast of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in our calendar, many in our community will only now be learning of the horrific attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester," said a joint statement from the Jewish Leadership Council and Board of Deputies of British Jews.

The attacker drove the car toward a large crowd of worshippers in the synagogue, ran out of the car, according to witnesses quoted by the BBC, and stabbed a man around 9:30 a.m. local time. Worshippers and security staff demonstrated "immediate bravery" and helped stop the attacker from entering the building, Greater Manchester Police said.

Police also said Oct. 2 they had arrested three people "on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism."

Following the attack, Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham, lead bishop for interreligious dialogue, said he was "deeply shocked" and "saddened to hear of the vicious attack, on this most holiest of days in the Jewish calendar."

Bishop John Arnold of Salford in his Oct. 2 statement assured that the local Catholic community stands "united in our prayers for the Jewish community following the tragic attack on a synagogue in Manchester." Condemning the terror attack, he prayed "for those who have died, the injured, emergency responders, and all affected."

He urged all to "work together in hope to strengthen our community solidarity." "We must remain united in our common beliefs against those who sow hatred and division," he said, praying for "peace and tolerance around the UK and the world."

Cardinal Nichols added, "It is a duty of us all to work together to ensure a more cohesive and respectful society, one in which such violence and inhumanity have no place."

On Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, Jewish people traditionally fast and go to synagogue to partake in prayer services.

This holiest day is the culmination of Judaism's high holy days -- a 10-day period of repentance and self-examination that starts on the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah, which this year began at sunset on Sept. 22, and ended at nightfall on Sept. 24.

It is believed that on Rosh Hashanah, God inscribes people's fates for the coming year in the Book of Life and that on Yom Kippur, these judgments become final.