Catholic Archbishop of Perth condemns ‘dreadful’ anti-Semitic incidents in Perth Christmas service

The rise in anti-Semitism across Australia has distressed but not surprised the Catholic Archbishop of Perth, who describes it as the signs of a fraying society. As he delivered the Solemn Pontifical Mass of Christmas Day at St Mary’s Cathedral, the Most Reverend Timothy Costelloe denounced the terrorist attack at Bondi beach on December 14 which killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl. The shocking atrocity targeted a Hanukkah celebration and on Tuesday it was followed with the shock discovery of guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and a bomb-making shopping list at a Yangebup home. The 39-year-old resident, Martin Thomas Glynn, is accused of posting on Instagram his “100 per cent support” for the alleged gunmen — Islamic State-supporting father-and-son duo Sajid and Naveed Akram. Then in the early hours of Thursday, a car sporting a Hanukkah decoration on its roof was firebombed in Melbourne. Amid fears of an IS revival in our region, the archbishop described these events as “dreadful.” “It’s a real sign of something that is not right, something that’s quite unhealthy, developing in our society,” he said. “We rightly say that Australia is a wonderful country to live in. We have a wonderful set of values, but I just get the feeling that maybe this is beginning to fray around the edges . . . I’m certainly very distressed by it and very worried by it. “Sadly, I’d have to say that I’m not that surprised.” He called on Australians of all faiths to “delve deeply into their own traditions and discover the common things” they shared — and pursue peace. “I think it’s the role of religions, the Christian religion, the Jewish faith, and all of the other religious traditions,” the archbishop said. He told the packed-out service attended by more than 1000 people that the past two weeks in particular had been “a time of shock, of grief and of fear” for the Jewish community. WA Governor Chris Dawson said he sensed anger among the grief as he spent time with Perth’s Jewish community since the Sydney attack. But, “through all that is hope.” “They were really just saying ‘we are part of Australia and we want hope for the future just like everyone else does’,” Mr Dawson said at the annual Christmas in the Park Lunch. “The most important thing we have to do as an Australian community is to be less divisive, work together and understand irrespective of our faith and our beliefs, we can do this together.”