DAILY CATHOLIC MONDAY August 24, 1998 vol. 9, no. 165
NEWS & VIEWS |
MEMORIALS ACROSS IRELAND FOR OMAGH VICTIMSMemorial services for the victims of the Omagh bomb were held throughout Ireland on Saturday afternoon, August 22. All around the country people observed a minute of silence at 3:10 PM-- exactly one week after the time when the bomb went off.Twenty eight people were killed in the blast. More than seventy people are still hospitalized with injuries sustained in the explosion. Responsibility for the bombing was claimed by the Republican dissident group which calls itself the Real Irish Republican Army. The Taoiseach (prime minister) of the Irish Republic, Bertie Ahern, appealed to his people to make an all-out effort to attend memorial services. The British Government announced that the Irish President, Mary McAleese, and Ahern are to be invited to join Queen Elizabeth and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a service for the victims of the blast. The date and venue will be decided after consultation with the victims' relatives. Pope John Paul sent a message to Archbishop Sean Brady before the ecumenical church service in Omagh. The Pontiff said he shared the shock and dismay of all people of goodwill at the violence committed against the people of Omagh and Northern Ireland. The Pope said he was confident that the desire for peace so clearly manifested by the people of Northern Ireland would go on to blossom in all-embracing initiatives among all sectors of the community.
He added: "I make my own your prayer for all those with
responsibility for peace in Northern Ireland that they may
persevere, with God's help, in the task and duty that history has laid
on them."
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