The gun attack on the church of St
Mary in the Istanbul suburb of Büyükdere would seem to have been
motivated by religious intolerance, the Apostolic Vicar of
Istanbul, Monsignor Massimiliano Palinuro, said on Sunday.
"The motivations are not clear in concrete terms, they still
have to be verified, but the elements that seem to be emerging
so far suggest an attack with a religious matrix, a motivation
of religious intolerance," Monsignor Palinuro told Vatican News.
The apostolic vicar said during Mass "two armed people entered
(the church) firing gunshots into the air".
Then "there was the reaction of one of the faithful, who also
had mental health problems; he had the courage to protest
against this attitude: probably in response to this act (the
gunmen) responded by killing this person", he added.
Expressing his condolences over the attack on Sunday, Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "necessary measures are
being taken to catch the perpetrators as soon as possible".
He is said to have spoken by telephone with local officials and
priest of St Mary's.
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