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Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson prayed “in particular for those who have suffered hate crimes and are fleeing war” at Christ Church Cathedral on Friday night as he and Catholic Archbishop Dermot Farrell prepared to lead pilgrims in procession to the Pro-Cathedral on Marlborough Street.
“As we walk through the streets of Dublin city this Good Friday we think of victims of hate crimes and those who have fled wars and found refuge in Ireland, ” he said.
Expressing sympathy to the families and friends of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee, killed in Sligo this week, he said “the inhumanity and cruelty of these attacks are rightly to be condemned”.
Walking through the city streets, they would carry with them “the concerns and fears of members of our communities who have been shaken by the murders of two men in Sligo and violence perpetrated against others,” he said.
They would bring with them “the anxieties and fears of the millions of people who are on the move in Europe and around the world as a result of war. This Good Friday sets us alongside the suffering and degradation of the people in Ukraine and all who flee war,” he said.
Walk of Witness
This first Walk of Witness since 2019 began at Christ Church Cathedral with a short prayer and reflection involving the two archbishops, who then led participants from the cathedral down Dame Street to College Green and Westmoreland Street to O’Connell Street, before turning down Talbot Street towards the Pro-Cathedral, where there was a short service.
“With so many Ukrainian people terrorised and displaced, participating in this year’s walk is a way of showing our solidarity with everyone who is dispossessed and marginalised,” Archbishop Jackson said.
The Methodist Church in Ireland has expressed its horror at the “brutal killings” of the two men in Sligo. It expressed its sympathy to those closest to the men.
“We are also very saddened by recent homophobic attacks, including that on a man in Dublin in recent days. People from across the community need to know that they can conduct their ordinary lives without fear of attack,” it said.
It was “also a reminder that many are attacked verbally or otherwise on a regular basis – narratives that induce fear and embolden others,” it said.
Interfaith forum
The Dublin City Interfaith Forum offered “its sincerest condolences and expresses its deep sadness upon learning of the deaths of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee in Sligo”.
It added: “Considerable speculation and uncertainty has caused fear and anger to percolate on social media and throughout the country, feeding further division and hate and attempting to twist and shift the narrative away from the tragedy of their deaths. We ask for restraint and reflection.”
These “needless deaths have impacted greatly upon our diverse communities in Ireland and remind us to stand in solidarity with our LGBTI+ community, against all forms and expressions of hatred, hostility and violence,” it said.
Safe Haven, the forum’s hate and extremism response project, called “on all faith leaders, faith communities and advocates to put compassion into practice by proactively encouraging the reporting of all forms of hate and hostility and to support those wishing to do so”.
Encouraging people to report hate incidents to gardaí, it said the public can also “independently report all incidents of hate and hostility through iReport.ie, a confidential reporting system for incidents of racism and discrimination”.