Violence against Christians

I am looking at some stories on CWN.

Philippines: bomb explodes during Christmas Mass

A bomb exploded during Christmas Mass in a chapel on the island of Jolo, injuring 11. “I was reading the Gospel,” said Father Romeo Villanueva. “I was not yet finished when there was a loud explosion.” The Islamic separatist group Abu Sayyaf is suspected in the attack, which was condemned by the mainstream Muslim National Ulama Conference.

Nigeria: 38 dead in church attacks, bombings

Armed men attacked two Protestant churches in Nigeria on Christmas Eve, killing a pastor and setting fire to one of the churches. The churches were located in Maiduguri, a northeastern city that serves as the headquarters of the Islamist group Boko Haram.

In the central Nigerian city of Jos, four bombs exploded, two in a market filled with Christmas Eve shoppers, and one in a Christian area of the city.

At least 38 died in the church attacks and bombings.

AP adds:

At least 38 people died in Christmas Eve attacks across Nigeria, including the six killed at churches in the country’s north by suspected members of a radical Muslim sect. In central Nigeria, 32 died in a series of bomb blasts in the worst violence to hit the region in months.

After muted Christmas celebration, Iraqi prelate vows Church will persevere

As Christians in Iraq observed a quiet Christmas, foregoing decorations and midnight liturgical celebrations for fear of new violence, Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk insisted that the Christian presence in Iraq will continue.

I think we know who did what to whom in Baghdad.

Barred from church, Indonesian Catholics celebrate Christmas Mass in a parking lot

Unsuccessful in their efforts to roll back a decision by local official banning Christmas Mass in the local parish church, Indonesian Catholics in the Bogor region of West Java held their Eucharistic celebration in the parking lot outside a school.

The parish church had been declared inappropriate for worship services because Catholics had been unable to obtain a permit for the building. Local officials were under heavy pressure from Islamic militants to keep the building closed.

Patriarch of Jerusalem laments abortion, violence against Christians

Soooo…

Sts. Nunilo and Alodia, pray for us.

CNS has this:

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI today condemned a series of deadly attacks against Christian churches and other targets around the world at Christmas time.

The pope appealed for peace after bombs went off in churches in the Philippines and Nigeria, killing or wounding several worshipers. In Pakistan, a suicide bombing against a World Food Program depot left at least 40 dead.

Here is a CNS translation of the pope’s appeal:

At this time of holy Christmas, the desire and the pleas for peace have become still more intense. But our world continues to be marked by violence, especially against the disciples of Christ. I learned with great sadness of the attack on a Catholic church in the Philippines, during the celebration of the Christmas Day liturgy, as well as attacks against Christian churches in Nigeria. The earth has also been stained with blood in other parts of the world, like Pakistan. I wish to express my heartfelt condolences for the victims of this absurd violence. Once again I make an appeal to abandon the path of hatred in order to find peaceful solutions to conflicts and bring security and tranquility to these dear populations. On the day in which we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, who lived the dramatic experience of having to flee into Egypt because of the homicidal fury of Herod, let us remember all those, in particular families, who are forced to abandon their homes because of war, violence and intolerance. I invite you, therefore, to join me in praying fervently that the Lord may touch people’s hearts and bring hope, reconciliation and peace.

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18 Comments

  1. becket1 says:

    I wonder what Tony Blair’s wife thinks. Her sister did convert to Islam!.

  2. shane says:

    I suspect Catholics in the west are also about to get a nasty wake-up call. The level of anti-Catholic vitriol in the ‘media’ has become so intense, particularly in Europe, that it is creating a climate where Catholicism is increasingly viewed by the public as a sinister and irredeemably evil conspiracy. The sex scandals have convinced the chattering classes that the Church is so self-evidently corrupt that it simply can’t be trusted to self-regulate and it surely won’t be long ’til we hear of legal measures striking at the Church’s institutional autonomy. In the event of economic collapse, or a general breakdown of law and order – an unlikely, but not impossible prospect – far-leftist and anarchist groups will take advantage. Like Spain in the 30s. Only this time there will be no Franco.

  3. Zilla says:

    My prayers are with our brothers and sisters who are suffering from violent persecution, may we see peace and true religious freedom in our lifetime.

    I’m afraid Shane (above me) is right, and it has already begun, San Francisco has officially condemned the Catholic Church!

    http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/new.php?id=2042

    http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/catholic-league-sues-supervisors-resolution

    Just before Christmas I wrote a large post at my own blog about persecuted Christians around the world that you may find interesting:

    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2010/12/christmas-and-christians-who-need-our.html

    How sad that in just the past few days it has gotten even worse.

  4. (X)MCCLXIII says:

    I’m afraid Shane might be right, although I think that the Pope’s visit to Britain in September and his Thought for the Day have positively impressed some of our erstwhile media opponents.

  5. Fr. Basil says:

    \\Patriarch of Jerusalem laments abortion, violence against Christians
    \\

    Why is there a Latin patriarch of Jerusalem when there is already the Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem who has a vicar there?

  6. rakesvines says:

    why don’t we see more condemnations of these from moderate muslims elsewhere? …because they already have power elsewhere. http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2010/07/revealing-patterns-of-behavior-by.html

  7. bookworm says:

    You should have heard the homily by our Bishop, Thomas John Paprocki, at the Midnight Mass I attended. The Bishop devoted most of it to reminding us of how much Christians in Iraq, and elsewhere in the Middle East and Asia, suffer from persecution and violent attacks by militant Islamists (he specifically mentioned the massacre at Our Lady of Salvation), and how they could not celebrate Christmas freely as we do. He acknowledged that it was not the “warm and fuzzy” Christmas message one would normally expect to hear at a Midnight Mass, but it was necessary that we do not forget our suffering brethren, take our faith for granted, or assume that such things could never happen here.

  8. Torkay says:

    Regarding the attack in the Philippines, our SSPX prior, who was formerly stationed there, told us that the Philippines are a training ground for Islamic terrorists.

  9. Grace says:

    Also, the Turkish occupation forces in northern Cyprus stopped all Orthodox Christian services on Christmas, going so far as to barge into one church where the faithful were worshipping and force everyone to leave and make the priest remove his clerical robes. Other churches were prevented from even being opened and priests were stopped from entering the Christian enclaved occupied area. It is not making headlines, I guess because fortunately nobody was killed, but it is a terrible attack on religious freedom nonetheless. The Christians in northern Cyprus have to have permits on a monthly basis to have religious services. And Turkey wants to join the European Union.

    http://www.sigmalive.com/simerini/news/local/339736
    http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/12/turkish-muslim-troops-stop-church-services-im-cyprus-on-christmas-defrock-priests.html

  10. unsilenced says:

    Let us all offer prayers and penance for all of our persecuted brothers and sisters. And may we come to cherish and thank our Heavenly Father for the liberties we enjoy here. To be honest, sometimes i cry when I hear these news. It is just so painful and frustrating when there is nothing you can do to change the situation, but then I remember to pray.

  11. becket1 says:

    Who knows it may come down to Atheists and Islam going at it in the future while Christians remain underground as witnesses to the battle.

  12. Supertradmum says:

    rakesvines,

    As you know, but it bears repeating, there is no such thing as an “orthodox” modern Muslim. If a Muslim is true to his faith, he is violent. The Koran and the Hadith demand it.

    Part of the problem in the United States is the dropping of Western Civilization, or the History of Western Civ from high school curricula in the 1980s. There are now two generations of Americans who do not have a clue about the real reasons for the Crusades, or about Islamic aggression across the entire world.

  13. rakesvines says:

    @Supertradmum: You – choirmaster; me – soloist. 25% of my posts in http://www.divine-ripples.blogspot.com/ focus on what you wrote. Since 50% of my Facebook friends are either bishops, priests on nuns, it is my goal to inculcate this vision to them as well. I came out of that Kumbaya world of Vatican II where Islam is dignified as a religion, placed alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is frustrating and infuriating to see the Church be made into a useful idiot to prop up this greatest con in the history of mankind. I am glad that our Pope is much vocal and candid about this cult. I hope he calls upon the leaders of all nations to come to the aid of the persecuted Christians. I won’t hold my breath for the POTUS.

  14. catholicmidwest says:

    rakesvines,
    You don’t hear condemnations of murders by moderate muslims because they approve of it. This was the case with 9-11 and it’s still the case.

  15. Supertradmum says:

    rakesvines,

    Good for you. God bless your work online.

  16. Fr. Basil —
    The Latin Rite Patriarch is in charge of Latin Rite Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Cyprus. He’s not in charge of Maronites, or of other non-Latin Rite Catholics in those areas.

  17. rakesvines says:

    @Torkay: That may be true and I do hope that the US war on terror would purge the Philippines of all those Muslims. But it appears that the effort is being scaled back and phased out because of the Muslim friendly administration. ( I am just so disgusted with Obama and everyone who voted for him. ) I hope and pray that the coming Congress revive the effort and send these criminals to hell.

  18. Zilla says:

    Sadly, the violence continues; just a half an hour into the new year and islamists blew up a car bomb outside a church in Egypt as parishioners were exiting New Year’s Mass.

    http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2010/12/car-bomb-kills-7-at-egyptian-church-as-worshippers-gathered-to-greet-new-year/

    http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/12/half-hour-into-new-year-muslim-car-bomb-explodes-kills-five-leaving-new-years-church-service.html

    Earlier, I wrote at my own blog about the need for people to stop turning a blind eye to the genocide against Christians, because, I believe, a holocaust is coming if something isn’t done to stop this madness soon:

    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2010/12/peace-through-religious-freedom.html

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