Kenya attack: Irish founder of Shalom Centre expresses solidarity

An Irish priest who founded the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation (SCCRR), based in Nairobi, has expressed sorrow and solidarity with victims’ families as well as the people of Kenya following the massacre at Garissa University there on Holy Thursday.

In a statement Fr Patrick Devine, originally from Frenchpark Co Roscommon and a Society of African Missions priest, said “this is murder on a scale that horrifies the whole world.”

He said “SCCRR stands with the Kenyan people – regardless of whether they have Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Traditional beliefs – the Kenyan government, and all of civil society in condemning this attack, and we are redoubling our efforts to address the root causes of conflict and promote enduring peace. We will work with the Kenyan government and our partners to pursue a better future for all the peoples of the region.”

He continued that “all of us have to give particular attention to dangers associated with religionisation of politics and the politicisation of religion. Systematic education, particularly in respect to freedom and tolerance in the framework of human rights and responsibility, is so important to a safer interconnected world. Education is critical in this process in order to counter radicalization whose extremism goes beyond the repulsion of killing to engage in mass murder.”

He warned against “the extreme dangers which arise when the divine message of all religions, centred on peace and reconciliation, is not authentically proclaimed.”

Respect for religious plurality was “a critical legitimate path to peace,” he said.

SCCRR was founded in 2009 by Fr Devine who has over 25 years of experience in mitigating conflict and poverty in Africa. He remains its executive director and leads an international team of conflict resolution experts from various religious backgrounds and disciplines, based in Kenya and neighbouring countries.