Prime Minister, Governor Beazley, Archbishop Fisher, Rabbi Elton, members of the diplomatic corps, including Ambassador Maimon, religious leaders, in particular, president of the Jewish Board of Deputies, David Ossip.
We were meant to gather here tonight to celebrate Christmas, a season that speaks to Christians of joy, of hope and of light entering the world.
Unfortunately and instead, we come together here at the beautiful St Mary's Cathedral in a different spirit.
United in grief but also in love, to stand alongside the Jewish community of New South Wales and to say clearly and without hesitation that you are not alone.
In the Catholic tradition, places like this cathedral exist not just for celebrations, but for moments like this, moments when a community gathers for one another.
To comfort each other, to bear grief together and to affirm the dignity of every human life.
Tonight, that's exactly what we're doing. Yesterday, many of us were deeply moved by the words of Rabbi Eli Feldman, who spoke so beautifully about his dear friend, Rabbi Eli Schlanger.
The two Elis had studied together as young men, they'd both become rabbis, and Schlanger was like a brother to Feldman.
Eli Schlanger was one of those optimistic people who would celebrate Chanukah by dancing down the street, because he said the best way of fighting antisemitism was to dance.
On Sunday night, Rabbi Schlanger was murdered. He was murdered on Bondi Beach for the simple reason that he was a member of the Jewish community.
If Eli Feldman had responded to this evil act with spite or with hatred, I think there'd be a general understanding from most Australians.
But instead, on television, in front of everybody, he said, "No matter the colour of your skin or what you believe, we are all created in God's image, every single human being is created in God's image. Let us love each other. Let us care about each other."
If there is anything this moment asks of us, it is reflection on the extraordinary grace shown by Rabbi Feldman and so many religious leaders of the Jewish faith, who we call our neighbours and our friends.
Reflect on their values, the values that bind us together as a society.
For those of us who are not Jewish, moments like this remind us of the deep responsibility that we have to listen, to learn and to stand alongside a community whose history reflects resilience, courage and faith, but also persecution.
Here in Australia, we believe and we must continue to prove that people have a fundamental right to be able to live openly, practice their faith freely and feel safe doing it.
That promise matters, and it's one we recommit to tonight. The purpose of this attack was to frighten us and to isolate us. It was designed to divide Australian against Australian.
But standing here together across faiths and backgrounds, it's clear that it will fail. It will fail because of the strength of the Jewish people.
It will fail because of the strength of Australians, a strength shaped by our shared values, our respect for faith and an unbreakable commitment to one another, whether we know each other or not.
The truth is, our instinct as Australians, is to stand by our mates, to look after one another and to leave no one behind.
And when that instinct is tested, it reveals itself not in speeches, but in brave and often selfless acts.
In recent days, we've seen life savers run barefoot towards danger. Long lines form around blood banks across the country, quiet acts of humanity that speak far louder than any words.
As we approach Christmas, a season that calls Christians to joy and peace, we do so with heavy hearts this year, but I hope not without hope.
Now, I think it would be reasonable that hope could seem a distant prospect after the last few days.
Some may even call a return to happiness and unity a miracle. And the truth is, we've got every reason for despair at the moment.
But perhaps we can take some encouragement and comfort from our Jewish friends. As David Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, said "In the Middle East, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles."
So don't give up on hope. Rabbi Sacks once said, "To be a Jew is to be an agent of hope in a world serially threatened by despair. Ours is a sustained struggle against the world that is, in the name of the world that could be, should be, but is not yet."
Rabbi Eli Schlanger was buried today. He left a message just weeks ago for all of us, not knowing that it would sustain us after his passing, and we've been ripped apart.
He said, "May we pray for peace within our hearts and peace all over the world."
