Bondi Beach: Hundreds of mourners gather at Perth’s St Mary’s Cathedral to honour 15 killed in Sydney shooting

Hundreds of West Australian mourners have gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral to pay tribute to the 15 people killed in the deadly Bondi Beach mass shooting. Chief Justice Peter Quinlan was among the parishioners who attended the midday mass, lead by Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, in Perth’s CBD on Monday afternoon. Dozens of mourners could be seen praying, with some visibly crying and wiping tears from their cheeks. Archbishop Costelloe thanked guests for attending, and said the church was uniting together to support “our Jewish brothers and sisters who are suffering so much at this time.” “Today, our hearts are heavy as we contemplate the horrors which unfolded on Bondi yesterday afternoon,” he said. “While we understand what is meant by those who say there is no place for violence in Australia, yesterday’s events are forcing us to recognise that, tragically, there are such places of darkness and evil in the minds of some of us. “Yesterday, that evil burst forward with devastating effect on Bondi. “It was targeted against those fellow Australians who follow the faith and customs of Judaism. “The violence and the hatred which inspired yesterday’s events were in one sense, indiscriminate — not only people of Jewish faith were killed or injured, but the intent was clear; to terrorise the Jewish community as a whole. “In a country which prides itself on tolerance and of its welcoming of everybody, this is a direct attack on the values we have traditionally held.” Justice Quinlan lead a reading from the Prophet Isaiah. “Thus says the Lord, have a care for justice, act with integrity, assume my salvation will come and my integrity will be (manifested),” he said. “Blessed are those who do this and who cling to it, observing the Sabbath, not proclaiming it, keeping their hands from every evil deed.” Speaking to media after the service, Archbishop Costelloe described the Bondi shooting as “distressing” and said it was hard to believe such horror could unfold on Australian shores. “Politicians and others say. . . ‘there is no place in Australia for this kind of thing to happen’, but sadly, there are places where it does happen,” he said. “But if you look at what happened yesterday, and the courage of that man who tried to stop one of the shooters, the courage of the first responders, the courage of people who reached out and tried to protect others, that’s where we should look. “We should look to the goodness in the Australian character, and do our best to support that and encourage that and help that to grow, not to give in to this terrible violence that has erupted in such a horrible way.” He expressed his solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community, adding he wanted to “support them in any way we can.” “So many other people beyond the Catholic Church really felt the need to do something to try and bring people together, to give people a chance to express their solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and also recommit ourselves to being people who reject violence, who reject hatred, who certainly reject antisemitism, and who want to be creators of peace,” he said. “We derive so much of our faith from the ancient Jewish tradition ... so the link between Judaism and Christianity is so tight that I hope our Jewish brothers and sisters would understand that we feel for them. “I think it’s really important the Jewish community needs to know they’re not alone at the moment.” At least 15 innocent people — including a 10-year-old girl — were killed and countless others injured, after two gunmen opened fire at Chanukah by the Sea, which marked the start of the Jewish holiday, on Sunday afternoon.