NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) – Amid shock and grief after the Ethiopian Airline crash, leaders from the world’s faith traditions gathered in Nairobi for a United Nations event, united in prayer on Monday (March 11) for the 157 victims of the air disaster, among them a Roman Catholic nun and a Catholic and a Lutheran priest.
Some 5,000 delegates to the U.N. Environment Assembly, meeting at the U.N.’s Nairobi campus this week, held a moment of silence for 22 of their number who died on their way to the assembly.
“I stand before you this morning with a very heavy heart, as we mourn the loss of our sisters and brothers, our colleagues, delegates and members of the United Nations family in the tragic Ethiopian Airlines plane crash,” Maimunah Mohd Sharif, acting director of the U.N. Office in Nairobi, told the gathering.
“In the wake of this tragedy, it has been difficult to navigate how to proceed without showing respect to the many lives lost yesterday. I want to assure … that as the day and week unfolds … we will not forget this tragedy, nor those that perished with it.”
In a tent set aside for clergy on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting, leaders from Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i and Judaism took turns to offer the prayers. The leaders are hosting a side event at the assembly dubbed “Faith for Earth.”
“We have gathered here to pray…
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