Posted on 05/12/2013 6:07:40 AM PDT by markomalley
In a move that may annoy some in the Muslim world, Pope Francis plans to canonize 800 Italian laymen who were massacred by Ottoman Turkish soldiers during the historic siege in the southern Italian city of Otranto in 1480.
The canonization service, the very first by the new pope, will be held on May 12 in St Peter’s Square, reported Britain’s Catholic Herald newspaper.
The Daily Telegraph reported that this ceremony will set a new record for the highest number of saints canonized at any one time by the Church.
During the week-long siege of Otranto more than five centuries ago, Ottoman soldiers were instructed to murder all men above the age of 15 for refusing their demands to convert to Islam. According to historical accounts, one of the martyrs, Antonio Primaldo, a tailor, declared: “We believe in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and for Jesus Christ we are ready to die.”
Primaldo was soon beheaded for his troubles. The names of the other martyrs are lost to history.
The Cathedral in Otranto is today adorned with the skulls and other relics of the martyrs.
Pope John Paul II visited Otranto in 1980 to observe the 500th anniversary of the massacre. At that time the Pope praised the city’s medieval residents who resisted the Turks’ threats.
However, the martyrdom of Primaldo and his fellow natives of Otranto were not recognized until 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI who said they were “killed out of hatred for the faith.”
Benedict also identified a miracle related to the Otranto saga: a nun whose cancer was miraculously healed after she paid a pilgrimage to the martyr’s relics in Otranto in 1980.
The siege of Otranto, launched by Sultan Mohammed II of Turkey, was eventually stopped by the forces of the King of Naples. Mohammed’s forces, who had already captured Constantinople (present day Istanbul), failed to reach their next intended target, Rome.
Now, in the early 21st century, highlighting the Otranto massacre must be viewed within the context of still fragile ties between the West and Islam.
A conservative Italian senator named Alfredo Mantovano, who wrote about the Otranto siege in 2007, compared it with the present state of relations between Europe and Islam.
“All of this [the Otranto massacre] took place because of the indifference of the political leaders of Europe to the Ottoman menace,” he wrote, the Telegraph cited.
“In Otranto, no one displayed rainbow pacifist flags, nor invoked international resolutions … Today Europe is under attack, not by an institutionally organized Muslim phalanx but by a patchwork of non-governmental organizations of fundamentalist Muslims.”
Damian Thompson, a columnist for the Telegraph in Britain, pointed out that Pope Francis has had warm relations with Muslims and has sought to reach out to global Islamic communities. He wonders how the mass canonization of Christians who died at the hands of Muslims from more than 500 years ago will affect his campaign to heal the rift between the faiths.
Indeed, upon his election as Holy Father, Francis was widely embraced and congratulated by Muslims on hopes of deeper dialogue between Christendom and Islam.
As a cardinal from Argentina, Francis had even condemned some negative remarks that his predecessor, Benedict, had made about Islam.
In March, during an audience before the Diplomatic Corps in Rome -- which included some Muslim leaders -- Francis said: “In this work, the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God.
“But the converse is also true: It is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam.”
When faced with death, any strategy is better than none. Humor the islamists and say you converted while staying alive long enough to do some damage to them or escape. The option of beheading is not acceptable.
Matt 5:11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt 16:25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."
All good words, but when it comes down to losing your head or lying to your captors, there is only one choice.
As for me....I would rather face death than deny Christ...like these brave Italians....
I would die on my feet then be a Dhimmi on my knees...
But to each his own....
Telling a muzzy what they need to hear to stay alive and fight another day does not necessitate denying Christ. Ones faith and beliefs do not evaporate when you do what you need to survive.
....Yet they sure know how to work with the high tech stuff!
Pope Francis has sent a message to to the Muslims and the left in that, try as they do, the MORE Christian martyrs you make, the more Christians you have!
Yet those two Boston bombers sure knew how to “sturf” the internet on how ot make pressure cooker bombers.
This simple yet profound statement expresses a Muslim's complete acceptance of and total commitment to Islam.
I understand you position, but by accepting Islam you say the "Shahadah" you are denying Christ...and accepting the tenets of Islam..
Matthew 10:33 - But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Allah is not Jehovah...or Yahweh...
This was announced by Pope Benedict before he announced his retirement. I’m glad that Pope Francis is carrying through with it (I assume he could have called it off if he had wanted to).
Telling or reciting anything in front of some muslim scumbag has no lasting effect. These are not men or anything considered a witness to anything except mayhem and hate. Whatever one has to say before these islamist creeps holds no title or respect. Allow them to believe whatever it takes to escape their vile worship and ways.
No worthy entity will condemn one for dealing with scum as they need to be for survival.
To each his own..
And if you are a true follower of Christ the choice is easy. I'm surprised there is any conversation on this point.
You are advocating openly denying the Savior to save your own skin...at the peril of your soul. You're kidding yourself if you see it any other way. One cannot deny Jesus with a wink and a nudge to make it into something else. To follow Christ we need to emulate Christ, correct? At what point did Jesus say "I'm just kidding folks...I'm not the Messiah. Just a joke." That's what you're advocating.
It’s called survival. When dealing with someone trying to kill you, lying to your captors is not a concern. Yourself, your faith and your Deity will know the truth. Forfeiting your life for spoken words makes any future words meaningless.
Telling some islamo nutcase what he wants to hear is no worse than telling a dog you won’t kill it when he takes his teeth out of you so you can reach your weapon.
Say what one likes about the Pope, his job isn’t to build good relations or “relate” (as we used to say) to Muslims.
Someone amoung the elites who a running this world need to wake up to the threat of modern, jihadist, Islam.
Obama already lost Egypt, the worst is yet to come.
Lying to some stinking islamist is considered denying Christ? That makes absolutely no sense at all. Perhaps I missed the edict where being honest with a pack of jihadist muslim whackjobs paves the road to heaven.
Much better to mislead the cretins and whack them when they least expect it. islamists do not have your best interests in mind and deserve no honesty from decent humans.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.