The Archbishop of Canterbury has contrasted the “perverted, nihilistic, despairing” view of the man who killed four people in central London on Wednesday afternoon with that of the “very people he sought to kill” attempting to help him moments later in comments made to the UK’s House of Lords on Thursday.
Two people were killed and about 40 injured on Wednesday afternoon after a man – now named as British-born Khalid Masood – drove along the footpath on Westminister Bridge before crashing outside of the Houses of Parliament and then stabbing to death a third person, a police officer named as PC Keith Palmer. The assailant was subsequently shot dead. A fourth victim has since died.
Speaking in the House of Lords on Thursday, the Most Rev Justin Welby painted three “very simple, very brief pictures” which he said showed the “foundation of our own understanding of what our society is about”.
“The first is of a vehicle being driven across Westminster Bridge by someone who had a perverted, nihilistic, despairing view of objectives of what life is about, of what society is about, that could only be fulfilled by death and destruction,” he said. “The second is of that same person a few minutes later, on a stretcher or on the ground, being treated by the very people he had sought to kill. The third is of these two Houses, where profound disagreement, bitter disagreement, angry disagreement is dealt with not with violence, not with despair, not with cruelty, but with discussion, with reason and with calmness.”
Archbishop Welby said the three pictures “point us to deep values within our own society…a narrative that is within our society for almost 2000 years”.
“That speaks of – at this time of year as we look forward to Holy Week and Easter – of a God who stands with the suffering, and brings justice, and whose resurrection has given to believer and unbeliever the sense that where we do what is right; where we behave properly; where that generosity and extraordinary sense of duty that leads people to treat a terrorist is shown; where that bravery of someone like PC Keith Palmer is demonstrated, that there is a victory for what is right and good; over what is evil, despairing and bad.”
He said such values were shown on Wednesday, “not just in our expression…but in our practices which define those values”. “And that is the mood that we must show in the future.”
The Archbishop also conveyed messages of “sympathy and support” he had received from faith leaders around the world in the wake of the attack as well as from faith leaders across this country, “who want the House and Parliament, and particularly its staff and those who have suffered to know how much those people are in their hearts and minds”.
Earlier, the Archbishop said his prayers and thoughts were with the family of the policeman killed in the attack – PC Keith Palmer – and those “who are suddenly caught up in things for which they could never have been prepared or which they never expected”.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has sent a telegram expressing his condolences to the victims of the terror attack, saying he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the loss of life and injuries and assuring the nation of his prayers.
Addressed to Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, it reads: “Deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and of the injuries caused by the attack in central London, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his prayerful solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy. Commending those who have died to the loving mercy of Almighty God, His Holiness invokes divine strength and peace upon their grieving families, and he assures the nation of his prayers at this time.”
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, also offered his sympathy for those affected in a letter to member churches in the UK.
“I speak for the whole fellowship of Christian churches around the world when I say that we unconditionally condemn this criminal act of terror, whatever the motivation behind it have been, and we stand in solidarity with you in these difficult and trying circumstances,” he said in a letter of condolence. “Please be aware that the victims of this attack and their families are in our thoughts and prayers. We pray, too, for some comfort for their loved ones struggling to come to terms with, if never to understand, these senseless deaths and grave injuries.”
He said the churches “utterly condemn such violence and the terror it engenders; but we know that it will not shake your resolve as Christians”. “We urge you to stay strong in your faith in God but also in your commitment to God’s love, which embraces all, and God’s reign, which holds out hope for a just and inclusive society, one of compassion and reconciliation. It is sorely needed now.”
