Posted on 11/01/2010 5:53:37 AM PDT by tcg
They gathered in Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church for an evening Mass. They are members of an increasingly besieged and forgotten minority in Iraq, Catholic Christians. Their herosm and love for the Lord has inspired them to continue to practice the ancient faith in the midst of what is a steadily deteriorating situation for them in this land they have called home for centuries.
Our Lady of Salvation Church is no stranger to violence. Churches have been bombed before in Iraq, including Our Lady of Salvation. The Christian faithful have had to contend with an increasingly hostile culture. However, never before have they experienced the horror of what happened this past Sunday when terrorists invaded a Church as the Holy Mass was set to begin, killed the priest and held the worshippers hostage for four hours. It ended with at least 52 dead, others injued, and our brothers and sisters in Iraq devastated.
Reports confirm that 120 of the faithful had gathered to hear the Gospel proclaimed, participate in the Liturgy, and receive the Holy Eucharist. There were women, men and children. One eyewitness who had been inside the Church when the terrorists entered the sanctuary told European news sources that the armed terrorists "came into the prayer hall and immediately killed the priest". Out of fear the witness would not identify himself. However, he also attested to the brutality of the terrorists. He indicated that they beat the worshippers and then herded them into an inner hall...
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
It is not newsworthy to the MSM because it wasn’t the poor, innocent, misunderstood muslims that were killed only Catholics/s. God is aware of this abomination. He prepared a place for His martyrs and will deal with the murders in His time.
The Catholic Church teaches this about the Jewish people:
The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, "the first to hear the Word of God." The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ", "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, para 839)
However, when the Synod of Middle Eastern Bishops' concluding statement came out (in heavily redacted form), it made some outrageously unbalanced statements about the State of Israel: I will firmly and unequivocally state that their remarks were slanderous toward Israel, and I am by far not the only one to condemn them. (It pains me to say that Melkite Archbishop Cyril Bustros was particularly offensive in this regard.)
Archbishop Bustros and the other Syrian and Chaldean bishops are under immediate threat of having their tiny churches wiped out. Muslim jihadis have already largely carried out this threat, especially over the past 10 years.
That does not justify their statements slamming Israel and fawning on their Muslim tormentors, but it should be fairly considered that their statements (1) had almost all their anti-Muslim comments "pruned away" before publication; (2) are being made with, in effect, a gun to their heads, and (3) in any case, do not reflect Catholic doctrine.
Bishops' failings, weaknesses and political hand-waving do not constitute authoritative sources of doctrine in the Church.
Can we have a word of respect or decent sympathy for the priest and 52 people blown to bloody smithereens in their own church?
Amen. And thank you, Wings-n-Wind.
Thank you. It wasn’t on Fox when I looked, but it’s apparently there now.
Terible thing to happen, to christians or muslims. Armegadon???
Yes-— Drudge has it now. Thanks.
“Extremist Muslims”??
The Koran is extremist in and of itself. There is no such thing as a mooselimb that is not an extremist.
That is quite true and with reason. The closer the Vatican and the Pope snuggle up to Islamic Leadership the more seperated from them I will be...you can count on it.
Reuters (via euronews) had it out this afternoon, CET
http://www.euronews.net/newswires/562631-fifty-two-killed-in-iraq-church-raid/
Since it’s CHRISTIANS - not newsworthy. The left thinks it is not fashionable to be a CHRISTIAN.
you forgot to include: gunmen or militants in the options.
I’m surprised that it is actually being reported fairly by the msm. Go figure.
I’m glad it’s not broadcasted for days on end...the Islamic thugs would bask in the fact their “work” is out there encouraging others like them.
My personal opinion that keeping this at a minimum is protecting the church from further attacks as other wise the word has already gone to strike on thier own...so why give those thugs in US reason to show up on the steps of our churches.
We are not in such a position (yet) and have a duty to speak for the persecuted Church.
Christians are not important. They believe in an invisible man in the sky, and are therefore ignorant, stupid, knuckle-dragging, bible-thumping, gun-loving, dangerous idiots who don’t believe in true science.
(Islam, on the other hand, is all-important and the future of all mankind.)
/S/
Someone should remind George Bush that Islam IS NOT a religion of peace. What a crock his statement was. The Koran is a call to mass murder. End of story.
That is a terrible policy decision, if the church actually did come out with this type of edict. I’m not trying to besmirch your veracity here either.
Israel has a right to exist where it is. I believe that one issue alone is crucial. Christians need to stand beside Israel.
If the leadership of a religion comes out with a policy that denies Israel’s right to exist, it has pretty much sealed it’s own fate in my opinion.
Above and beyond whether Israel is God’s chosen people, they are human beings that have gathered in Israel and have a right to be recognized and respected.
Israel stands where it is with my support.
I would like to see some verification of that myself.
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