Paris, France, Nov 6, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard, president of the French bishops conference, along with the French episcopate, published Saturday, a formal declaration regarding the continuing violence that is currently spreading through France.
“The French Bishops express their vivid concern in front of this violence and the subsequent destructions,” he said, echoing the full assembly of French bishops gathered this week in Lourdes, in their plenary assembly.
“These events manage to produce a climate of mutual suspicion among various components of the population,” continued the archbishop.
Moreover, he tried to explore the cause of such events: “We must ask ourselves what could be the cause of such a spiral of violence in the most recent urban neighborhoods. Recent urbanization, difficulties for the youth facing unemployment, the instability in family life, are often mentioned.”
“But we deem that repression and the incitation to collective fear are not answers to these dramatic tensions in our society.”
Finally, he issued a message fostering the work of religious communities. “We wish to underline particularly the work that is being done daily by numerous associations and institutions in order to create a social link and fraternity.”
“We know how precious is the presence of little religious communities in these urban areas,” he concluded.