Priest Murdered in French Church Attack
Father Jacques Hamel, 84, died after his throat was slit during an attack on the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray by two armed men.
They entered the building during Mass, and took the priest and a number of other people, including two nuns, hostage.
ISIS reportedly claimed the attack was carried out by two “soldiers” from the group, one of whom was reportedly known to French intelligence services.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has expressed his horror at the "barbaric attack". "The whole of France and all Catholics are wounded. We will stand together," he wrote on Twitter. President Francois Hollande called it a “vile terrorist attack.”
A Vatican spokesman said in a statement that the attack hits particularly hard “because this horrific violence took place in a church, a sacred place in which the love of God is announced, and the barbaric murder of a priest and the involvement of the faithful.”
UPDATE 09.03.2022: Three men have been jailed for affiliation with the terrorists who killed Father Jacques Hamel in 2016. There sentences range from 13 to 8 years and the criminals have plead guilty after nearly a month of hearings.
Sources: BBC and Catholic Herald
Update Source: rfi