2:00:00 > 2:00:00SONGS OF PRAISE FKB B242P/01 BRD000000
9:42:14 > 9:42:17It's been just over a week since so many people lost their lives
9:42:17 > 9:42:22and hundreds more were injured in the terrorist attacks in Paris.
9:42:22 > 9:42:25Shock and sadness has been felt all over the world,
9:42:25 > 9:42:27not least here in London.
9:42:27 > 9:42:30This is the Notre Dame De France church in the heart
9:42:30 > 9:42:33of London's West End, which has become a focal point
9:42:33 > 9:42:35for the French community living here
9:42:35 > 9:42:38and for those wishing to remember and pray.
9:42:40 > 9:42:41In this special Songs Of Praise,
9:42:41 > 9:42:44we hear from one young Parisian
9:42:44 > 9:42:47very personally affected by the attacks.
9:42:47 > 9:42:50I received a text, one of my colleagues, actually,
9:42:50 > 9:42:54telling me that there's been something in Paris again and...
9:42:54 > 9:42:56my stomach just dropped.
9:42:56 > 9:42:59And the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby,
9:42:59 > 9:43:02and Cardinal Vincent Nichols express their anger towards
9:43:02 > 9:43:06those who claim to kill in the name of religion.
9:43:06 > 9:43:08The perversion of faith
9:43:08 > 9:43:13is one of the most desperate aspects of our world today.
9:43:13 > 9:43:18As Pope Francis has said, their actions are a blasphemy against God.
9:43:28 > 9:43:31We also have a wonderful worship song performed by West End star
9:43:31 > 9:43:35Shaun Escoffery, but we begin with a hymn that reminds us of the comfort
9:43:35 > 9:43:39and hope that can be found even in the darkest of days.
9:46:05 > 9:46:08This church is a little bit of France in England
9:46:08 > 9:46:11and as such has shared the pain in Paris personally,
9:46:11 > 9:46:14but the message it's chosen to send out to the world is very much
9:46:14 > 9:46:18the Christian perspective - the words of St Francis of Assisi -
9:46:18 > 9:46:21"Where there is hatred, let me sow love."
9:46:23 > 9:46:26But for some, that's a hard task indeed.
9:46:26 > 9:46:29Until recently, Violette Verite lived and worked
9:46:29 > 9:46:32in the Paris district where the attacks took place.
9:46:33 > 9:46:34I had a pretty long week,
9:46:34 > 9:46:37so I was looking forward to finally
9:46:37 > 9:46:39having a good weekend and sort of
9:46:39 > 9:46:41relaxing and...
9:46:41 > 9:46:42I received a text.
9:46:42 > 9:46:46Someone, one of my colleagues, actually, telling me that
9:46:46 > 9:46:51there's been something in Paris again, and my stomach just dropped.
9:46:51 > 9:46:55I was just doing the catalogue of all my family, friends,
9:46:55 > 9:46:59my uncle, my cousin - just thinking, you know, where can they be?
9:46:59 > 9:47:03Try and get them, turning on the BBC and just, you know,
9:47:03 > 9:47:05getting on the phone with them.
9:47:05 > 9:47:07Trying frantically to call my parents,
9:47:07 > 9:47:11who were not responding, and just sort of watching the news in shock.
9:47:11 > 9:47:14This atrocity affected you very personally.
9:47:14 > 9:47:16Yes, absolutely.
9:47:16 > 9:47:21My former colleagues, they were at the Bataclan, and I think,
9:47:21 > 9:47:24I don't know the details, but I think...
9:47:24 > 9:47:27they went through an ordeal, you know?
9:47:28 > 9:47:32Friends as well who got hurt
9:47:32 > 9:47:35are just coming out of hospital now.
9:47:35 > 9:47:37Are they going to be OK?
9:47:37 > 9:47:39Some of them are coming out of hospital
9:47:39 > 9:47:44and three ex-colleagues are sadly passed away.
9:47:49 > 9:47:53How do you feel towards the perpetrators of these atrocities?
9:47:55 > 9:47:58I really feel sad for them, that they have to...
9:47:59 > 9:48:03..to go through this for whatever faith they have
9:48:03 > 9:48:05or whatever belief they have.
9:48:05 > 9:48:10Just sadness and pity that they would do this,
9:48:10 > 9:48:11you know.
9:48:11 > 9:48:13I went through hate as well, I think,
9:48:13 > 9:48:17but they don't even deserve that energy from us, I think.
9:48:20 > 9:48:22What impact has all this had on you?
9:48:22 > 9:48:24I don't quite know yet. I think
9:48:24 > 9:48:29I will take time to, you know, process this, um...
9:48:30 > 9:48:34It made me really proud to be a Parisian. You know...
9:48:36 > 9:48:39Even here, living in London made me closer to my French friends,
9:48:39 > 9:48:41to my family.
9:48:41 > 9:48:44I think this week we all had an extra hug and extra laugh
9:48:44 > 9:48:48and extra thought for all these people we love.
9:48:49 > 9:48:52I'm going to Paris in two weeks, so I think it will be quite emotional
9:48:52 > 9:48:55as well, to walk the streets.
9:49:02 > 9:49:08# Blood of my Saviour
9:49:08 > 9:49:14# Bathe me in Thy tide
9:49:14 > 9:49:20# Wash me with water
9:49:20 > 9:49:26# Flowing from thy side. #
9:51:43 > 9:51:45Acts of remembrance and solidarity
9:51:45 > 9:51:48have been held all over the world in the past week,
9:51:48 > 9:51:51from public squares to football stadiums -
9:51:51 > 9:51:53vividly, at Wembley on Tuesday.
9:51:53 > 9:51:58THE MARSEILLAISE PLAYS
9:51:59 > 9:52:02But many also turned to the Church and their faith
9:52:02 > 9:52:04for comfort and guidance.
9:52:04 > 9:52:07So we asked the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby,
9:52:07 > 9:52:09and Cardinal Vincent Nichols,
9:52:09 > 9:52:11leader of the Roman Catholic Church
9:52:11 > 9:52:15in England and Wales, for their reflections on the Paris attacks.
9:52:15 > 9:52:19My wife and I lived in Paris for five years...
9:52:19 > 9:52:22and it was one of the happiest places we've lived
9:52:22 > 9:52:24and to think of a place of such
9:52:24 > 9:52:26celebration of life...
9:52:28 > 9:52:31..seeing such suffering is utterly heartbreaking.
9:52:31 > 9:52:34I just kept thinking of people who had gone out for a drink,
9:52:34 > 9:52:37had gone out for a meal, gone out to a football match
9:52:37 > 9:52:39and were not coming home,
9:52:39 > 9:52:41had just been slaughtered.
9:52:41 > 9:52:45And it really has taken me quite a while just to come to terms
9:52:45 > 9:52:48with the reality of what has happened.
9:52:50 > 9:52:53Some people watching this programme will be asking the question,
9:52:53 > 9:52:56where is God? Where is he in all this?
9:52:58 > 9:53:00He's alongside...
9:53:00 > 9:53:01with that...
9:53:03 > 9:53:07..deep involvement in the suffering and pain of the world
9:53:07 > 9:53:09that took him to the cross.
9:53:09 > 9:53:14Often, our society looks on faith as a problem,
9:53:14 > 9:53:17but in moments like this, we have to recover our sense
9:53:17 > 9:53:21of living in the presence of God and see that as a great strength.
9:53:21 > 9:53:24NOTRE DAME'S BELL TOLLS
9:53:26 > 9:53:28Do you ever doubt?
9:53:28 > 9:53:30Oh, gosh, yes.
9:53:30 > 9:53:32Does something like this happening ever, you know,
9:53:32 > 9:53:35- put a chink in your armour?- Yes.
9:53:35 > 9:53:37Saturday morning,
9:53:37 > 9:53:38I was out
9:53:38 > 9:53:40and as I was walking, I was praying...
9:53:42 > 9:53:45..and saying, "God, why are you...? Where are...?
9:53:45 > 9:53:50"Why is this happening? Where are you in all this?"
9:53:50 > 9:53:53And then engaging and talking to God. Yes, I doubt.
9:53:53 > 9:53:55What answers did he give you?
9:53:56 > 9:54:00He said... In the middle of it.
9:54:00 > 9:54:04And also an answer from the Psalm - Psalm 56 -
9:54:04 > 9:54:09he stores up our tears in a bottle. None of our sufferings are lost.
9:54:09 > 9:54:15I think the purpose that terrorists have in mind is first of all
9:54:15 > 9:54:18to make us live in fear,
9:54:18 > 9:54:22secondly, to breed hatred within us,
9:54:22 > 9:54:25and thirdly and consequently,
9:54:25 > 9:54:28to strike at divisions in our society,
9:54:28 > 9:54:30to split us apart.
9:54:30 > 9:54:33I think I have been trying to express
9:54:33 > 9:54:36the importance of resisting those three things.
9:54:39 > 9:54:42The terrorists of course believe they're doing all this
9:54:42 > 9:54:44to glorify their god.
9:54:45 > 9:54:51Religion is so powerful in the way humans behave that it has
9:54:51 > 9:54:56always been a tool used by the wicked
9:54:56 > 9:55:01to twist people into doing what they want them to do.
9:55:03 > 9:55:04Yes, they do believe that.
9:55:06 > 9:55:09But just because someone believes something deeply wrong,
9:55:09 > 9:55:13it doesn't mean that they are right, in some strange way,
9:55:13 > 9:55:15because they put God in it.
9:55:16 > 9:55:20The perversion of faith is one of the most desperate aspects
9:55:20 > 9:55:23of our world today.
9:55:23 > 9:55:27I think their intention is completely distorted
9:55:27 > 9:55:31in terms of any claim over a religious motive.
9:55:31 > 9:55:37And as Pope Francis has said, their actions are a blasphemy against God.
9:55:37 > 9:55:43So rather than ever with any rationality or validity
9:55:43 > 9:55:45claiming to act in the name of God,
9:55:45 > 9:55:48this is absolute blasphemy
9:55:48 > 9:55:50for everything that God stands for.
9:58:28 > 9:58:30Just round the corner from the Notre Dame church
9:58:30 > 9:58:33is London's bustling Theatreland.
9:58:33 > 9:58:36Coming up, we'll be meeting one of its stars, Shaun Escoffery.
9:58:36 > 9:58:37He'll be talking about his faith
9:58:37 > 9:58:40and also lending his voice to a great song of praise.
9:58:40 > 9:58:43But first, here's a hymn that could well be a suitable prayer
9:58:43 > 9:58:45for a time at this.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Singer-songwriter Shaun Escoffery is an acclaimed recording artist
0:01:20 > 0:01:23and West End star of the Lion King,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27but it's his faith that underpins his life and career.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30We caught up with him at the Hackney Empire in London
0:01:30 > 0:01:34during rehearsals for a very special performance for Songs Of Praise.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38I started going to church when I was, what?
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Quite late in my teens, actually.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Subsequently, I got involved
0:01:44 > 0:01:46in the kind of worship group
0:01:46 > 0:01:47side of things.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51That's when I really started to learn to sing.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Obviously, I wanted it to sound nice,
0:01:54 > 0:02:00but it was more expressing yourself to the inexpressible.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02# A ray of hope
0:02:02 > 0:02:05# Flickers in the sky... #
0:02:06 > 0:02:11You know, God is this being that's just beyond us,
0:02:11 > 0:02:16beyond our thoughts and imagination, you know - creator of all things.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Every time I think about it, my mind blows.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22So you can imagine trying to express yourself, your admiration,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26your love for a being of such grandeur -
0:02:26 > 0:02:28you start to push yourself vocally
0:02:28 > 0:02:32and so I kind of started to learn to sing then.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34That's when it started to happen for me.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Mufasa's this deep character
0:02:38 > 0:02:41and there's so much to explore with that, you know?
0:02:41 > 0:02:44And also, just being a warrior,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47he's strong,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49he's immensely strong,
0:02:49 > 0:02:54immensely powerful, but has a real meekness about him as well,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57so just encompassing all of that.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I'm thinking, "My King is like that."
0:03:00 > 0:03:02As an actor, and as a singer,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06my faith does play a part in what parts I take.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Because when you're performing, you want to be as true
0:03:09 > 0:03:11and as real as possible
0:03:11 > 0:03:13and so if I feel I can't do that,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16then I'm cheating myself, I'm cheating the audience and I'm...
0:03:16 > 0:03:17You know,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21someone else could come along and do it a lot better than I could.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23So yes, it's very important to me.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29I've chosen to sing Agnus Dei.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31That song for me is just...
0:03:31 > 0:03:34It always gets me, it always touches me
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and it's literally just a song of expression again.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Hallelujah to the King.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44It just encompasses that relationship between God and man,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47that really intimate relationship.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52It's big. With the choir singing behind it, it's just wonderful.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54It's a wonderful song. It means so much to me.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59# Alleluia
0:04:01 > 0:04:07# Alleluia
0:04:07 > 0:04:12# For the Lord God Almighty reigns
0:04:13 > 0:04:17# ALL: Alleluia
0:04:19 > 0:04:24# ALL: Alleluia
0:04:24 > 0:04:30# For the Lord God Almighty reigns
0:04:31 > 0:04:37# ALL: Alleluia
0:04:37 > 0:04:41# Holy
0:04:41 > 0:04:45# Holy
0:04:45 > 0:04:52# Are you Lord God Almighty?
0:04:52 > 0:04:56# Worthy is the Lamb
0:04:56 > 0:04:59# Worthy is the Lamb
0:04:59 > 0:05:03# You are Holy
0:05:03 > 0:05:07# Holy
0:05:07 > 0:05:14# Are you Lord God Almighty?
0:05:14 > 0:05:18# Worthy is the Lamb
0:05:18 > 0:05:21# Worthy is the Lamb
0:05:21 > 0:05:26# Amen
0:05:27 > 0:05:30# Alleluia
0:05:30 > 0:05:32# Alleluia
0:05:32 > 0:05:38# Alleluia
0:05:38 > 0:05:43# For the Lord God Almighty reigns
0:05:43 > 0:05:46# Alleluia
0:05:46 > 0:05:49# Alleluia
0:05:49 > 0:05:54# Holy
0:05:54 > 0:05:57# Holy
0:05:57 > 0:05:59# Are you Lord God Almighty?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01# Are You Lord God
0:06:01 > 0:06:05- # Almighty - Almighty
0:06:05 > 0:06:07# Worthy is the Lamb
0:06:07 > 0:06:09# Worthy is the Lamb
0:06:09 > 0:06:12# Worthy is the Lamb
0:06:12 > 0:06:14# You are Holy
0:06:14 > 0:06:16# Holy Lord
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- # Holy - Holy Lord
0:06:19 > 0:06:25# Are you Lord God Almighty?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27# Yeah
0:06:27 > 0:06:29# Worthy is the Lamb
0:06:29 > 0:06:33- # Worthy is the Lamb - Worthy is the Lamb
0:06:33 > 0:06:38ALL: # Amen. #
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Amen.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44# Worthy is the Lamb. #
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Muslim groups in France have been quick to condemn the atrocities.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03With me now is Ibrahim Mogra
0:07:03 > 0:07:06from the Muslim Council of Great Britain,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09who described the violence as horrific and abhorrent.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11What went through your mind
0:07:11 > 0:07:13when you heard of the events unfolding in Paris?
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Absolute shock. What made it worse
0:07:16 > 0:07:18was that these perpetrators
0:07:18 > 0:07:22claimed to have done it in the name of God - far from it.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26This was Satan's work and they did the bidding of the devil.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Islam totally condemns this kind of murderous atrocities,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33wherever they take place and our thoughts
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and our prayers are with those who have lost their loved ones.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40These terrorists who carry out these murders will have to pay
0:07:40 > 0:07:44for their crimes in this world and also in the hereafter,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47and that's very categorically stated within the Koran
0:07:47 > 0:07:49and within Muslim law.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53What impact has it had on the Muslim community here in Great Britain?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56We distance ourselves totally from their actions and we hope
0:07:56 > 0:08:01and pray that our fellow Britons will make that distinction
0:08:01 > 0:08:04and will stand with us in solidarity.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09It's a very lonely place to be in when our fellow Britons,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13if they begin to see us as the enemy within, where do we go?
0:08:13 > 0:08:17It's very important for us to stand in solidarity.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Let's return now to our interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury
0:10:55 > 0:11:00and Cardinal Vincent Nichols to hear their views as Christians
0:11:00 > 0:11:03on how we should be dealing with the threat presented by terrorists,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05and their hopes for the future.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11Terrorists and those who persecute
0:11:11 > 0:11:12and belittle people in the most
0:11:12 > 0:11:14terrible ways have to be stopped.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20The judgment of how best to stop them is a political and a military
0:11:20 > 0:11:25judgment, but there is no doubt that strong action has to be taken.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Instant reaction is that we wanted an eye for an eye.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Of course, and I know that, I feel that as well.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42But two injustices don't make justice.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46If we start randomly killing those who are...
0:11:47 > 0:11:53Who have not done wrong... That's not going to provide solutions.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56So governments have to be the means of justice -
0:11:56 > 0:12:00the Bible tells us that they are put there by God
0:12:00 > 0:12:02with the sword as...
0:12:02 > 0:12:03For justice.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07But they also have to lead us into a place
0:12:07 > 0:12:09where peace can be established.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15There was one line in a newspaper
0:12:15 > 0:12:18that said terrorists came to shed blood,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Parisians stood in line to give blood.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24So evil brings out goodness in us
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and we should be solid in our commitment to each other
0:12:28 > 0:12:31to stand in the face of this evil
0:12:31 > 0:12:36and to draw deeply on our most profound motivations
0:12:36 > 0:12:41to resist this push towards division and hatred and revenge
0:12:41 > 0:12:46and to stand together to build in justice a society
0:12:46 > 0:12:51that is respectful of each other and peaceful in its intent.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55What we know is that we come back to a God whose arms are always open
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and whose welcome is always there
0:12:58 > 0:13:01and who hears our hatreds, our bitterness, our failure,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04our sorrow, our grief, our questioning...
0:13:06 > 0:13:09..without judging us for them,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13but in unconditional love to us
0:13:13 > 0:13:17and wanting us to be the answer to the questions we pose.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10On social media sites around the world and on many makeshift shrines
0:15:10 > 0:15:15in the French capital, one poignant phrase stood out - pray for Paris.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Let us do just that.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Notre pere qui es aux cieux,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23que ton nom soit sanctifie...
0:15:27 > 0:15:29..que ton regne vienne...
0:15:32 > 0:15:35..que ta volonte soit faite
0:15:35 > 0:15:38sur la terre comme au ciel.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain de ce jour.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Pardonne-nous nos offenses...
0:15:49 > 0:15:53..comme nous pardonnons aussi a ceux qui nous ont offenses.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Et ne nous soumets pas a la tentation...
0:16:00 > 0:16:02..mais delivre-nous du Mal.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06Amen.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07Amen.