As Australians of all faiths are shaken by the Dec. 14 antisemitic attack that killed 15 people and injured many more, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney this week dedicated its annual Christmas light show to the victims.
“There’s no doubt our whole community is traumatized by this,” Archbishop Anthony Fisher said during his Dec. 17 remarks at the light show’s opening, according to Vatican News.
Leaders from several different religious groups attended the opening ceremony this year, joining Australia’s prime minister, the premier of New South Wales, and other politicians.
Mass shootings are extremely rare in Australia. According to Vatican News, the last occurred in 1996.
As CatholicVote previously reported, Australian authorities have confirmed that the shooting, which took place at a celebration of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney, was an antisemitic terror attack inspired by the ideology of the Islamic State.
The light show, which this year runs Dec. 17-25, according to OSV News, takes place outside St. Mary’s Cathedral. The façade is brightened each year by a display of religious images. According to Vatican News, the display receives thousands of visitors each year.
The event feels different this year, however, because the city — and the nation — are in mourning.
During the Dec. 17 ceremony, 15 candles were lit, each representing a person killed in the terror attack. According to Vatican News, members of the Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim communities were each invited to light one of the candles.
According to Vatican News, the light show climaxed with an image of a menorah that included “May their memory be a blessing,” a Jewish saying.
In his comments at the opening ceremony, Archbishop Fisher said that tensions have been rising in Sydney over the past two years because of the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza. According to Vatican News, he said that, while people of good faith can have different views about the conflict, protests “have spilled over locally into some very, very troubling demonstrations.”
“[The protests have] enabled people to show an antisemitism that perhaps has been beneath the surface in some people to show a level of hatred even for Jews that’s now turned into violence,” he said, according to Vatican News.
Archbishop Fisher said that the Church will be providing emotional support and grief counseling to help the people of Sydney heal from the tragedy. Additionally, he assured everyone that the Church was praying, including for the dead.
The archbishop said that there is discussion of dedicating a permanent memorial to the victims of the terror attack.
However, he explained to Vatican News that the attack’s location is currently covered in millions of bouquets of flowers, adding,“They’re being delivered in such quantities [that] they’re having to take them away to make room for the next lot of flowers.”
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