New Islamic developments in the murder of the Bishop in Turkey

There is a new theory working concerning the murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese in Turkey by his "crazed" driver.

The original claim was that the bishop’s driver, was depressed, etc., and then stabbed the bishop to death.

Now the working theory is that the depression was faked to supply a benign defense.  This was really an Islamic inspired murder. 

Apparently, the bishop was stabbed eight times, consistent with a ritual killing, then dragged outside the house where he was decapitated.  The murderer went to the roof of the place and shouted "Allah Akbar".

Corriere della Sera is saying that the earlier reports – avoiding an Islamic connection – were cobbled together to avoid any problems during Pope Benedict’s recent trip to Cyprus, half of which is held by Turkey.

Asia News has a story in English, including this bit:

Establishing the truth is necessary for the Turkish State, because it shows its modernity and ability to guarantee rights, but it is also necessary for the Church. According to police sources, it seems that Murat is offering a new justification for his action: Mgr. Padovese was a homosexual, Murat, 26, was the victim, "forced to suffer abuse." The killing of the bishop was not martyrdom, but an act of "legitimate defence".

Which I don’t believe for a moment. 

I had previously thought this was not an act of an Islamic extremist.  I guess I was supposed to think that.  But noticed how they are veering from one explanation to another now.  They are now also using the convenient stick of clerical sexual abuse. 

We have seen at least some of this movie before.

This is strange and stinky business.   We shall have to watch the news about this.

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16 Comments

  1. becket1 says:

    No really!!. Everyone knows the Turkish population and government wants to eradicate all Christians from the former Roman Capital of Constantinople and Byzantinium. They stole the land from Orthodox Christians and they are proud to make their claim. Did you watch the 60 minutes special on the Patriarch of Constantinople.

  2. Incaelo says:

    But if the man is really mentally unstable, as was originally claimed, how much of what he says can be accepted as true? Who is to say that the reasons he gives now are the same as the ones he had when killing Msgr. Padovese?

    Stinky business indeed. I guess we won know the truth for a while yet.

  3. apagano says:

    There’s also some information on this website: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=36862

  4. Certainly a lot of jihadis are one fry short of a Happy Meal. But the point is that, in most societies, if you’re crazy and you run around killing people in the name of your religion, you’ll be regarded as deluded. If you run around killing people in the name of Islam, you’ve got all the theological justification to claim you’ve done a good work, and the being crazy part is just an interesting side-fact.

    It’s very hard to judge sanity about “being able to tell right from wrong”, when your society says that whatever crazy thing you’re doing is right. The sudden and unprovoked making of war on an unbeliever (or a Muslim heretic) is a perfect and righteous action, if you’re Muslim, and only your own prudence or conscience prevents you from doing it. Of course, most Muslims are no more likely to do that than most Christians are likely, on the spur of the moment, to sell everything and give the money to the poor. But that’s their ideal or evangelical counsel, sad to say.

  5. Ragensburg’s genius shows up once again.

  6. Mike says:

    Wow…but I have, sadly, seen it before. My pastor in Germantown, MD, was stabbed to death in the rectory 10 years ago today. When they caught the guy, he claimed what this Turkish killer is claiming–he was rejecting an advance. Our pastor had a spotless reputation as a good and holy priest, and the jury didn’t buy it.

    Actually, tonight the Archbishop of Washington, DC, is at the parish, offering Mass for our deceased pastor’s soul.

  7. Steve K. says:

    “No really!!. Everyone knows the Turkish population and government wants to eradicate all Christians from the former Roman Capital of Constantinople and Byzantinium. They stole the land from Orthodox Christians and they are proud to make their claim. Did you watch the 60 minutes special on the Patriarch of Constantinople.”

    They’d love to do the same with Rome. Remember Lepanto. The new Turkish government (and much of its people – they were democratically elected, after all) dream Ottoman dreams. Ataturk is dead and his vision is dead now, too.

    On the excuse angle, expect many, many atrocities yet to be committed against us to use just this justification. “I was defending against an advance.”

  8. Geremia says:

    Ragensburg’s genius shows up once again.

    Comment by Joe of St. Thérèse — 8 June 2010 @ 12:31 pm

    Martyr-making genius, indeed. The Regensburg speech was very forceful yet tactful.

  9. Warren says:

    We must be patient. We must keep a trained eye on the proceedings and also be ready to challenge those who would use the misinformation to further attack the Church.

    Given that the contradictions in the killer’s testimony are already starting to pile up (… dung tends to pile up), the killer will likely convict himself. People of goodwill must remind the Turkish authorities to do their homework and work for justice. We must forgive the murderer and entrust this entire issue to the Holy Spirit, the Advocate. The Turkish legal system is on trial here.

  10. Sedgwick says:

    We shall have to watch the news about this.

    Hah – you’ll have to either read between the controlled media lines, or look for propaganda slip-ups, or get the news from an alternate source like WorldNetDaily.

  11. Steve K. says:

    Huge, comprehensive and for the West, dangerous changes have been underway in Turkey since the ascension of the AK party a few years ago. But the mainstream media have been largely content to ignore it, and operate under the assumption that Turkey is still Kemalist.

  12. Glen M says:

    Sadly, this update should be no surprise. Given Western Christianity’s low birth rate compared to the higher Muslim/Islamic in fifty years we’ll be in another Crusade.

  13. Esther says:

    “Everyone knows the Turkish population and government wants to eradicate all Christians from the former Roman Capital of Constantinople and Byzantinium. ”

    That’s a pretty bold assertion to make about both the government and the population. (I *assume* you mean “most of the population” rather than “every single Turk”, but it’s still a bold assertion.) I’d like to see your evidence for that statement before I can believe or disbelieve it.

  14. I am a PR guy and reading from the press reports, I get the stinking feeling that they are indeed sanitizing things to be “politically correct” at the expense of the murder of a bishop!

  15. catholicmidwest says:

    Are you really surprised?

  16. Grace says:

    Esther,
    It is well-documented. Read about the Armenian Genocide, the Greeks driven out of Smyrna, and just search “Turkey persecutes Christians.” Read the Instrumentum laboris given by the Pope last Sunday in Cyprus for a general overview of Christians in the ME.

    http://www.persecution.org/Countries/turkey.html (2003 report)

    http://www.persecution.org/suffering/countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=34

    http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=35086 The Greek Orthodox Patriarch speaks about persecution
    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE50L08O20090122?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

    The Turks occupied northern Cyprus in 1974. After most all Christians were driven out physically or from fear, the Turks renamed everything that was Greek into Turkish and systematically erased most vestiges of Christianity. What has been allowed to remain is for tourism purposes mainly. The enclaved Christians are harrassed and denied many rights.

    http://www.cyprusembassy.net/home/uploads/pdf/Miscellaneous/Human%20Rights%20Violations%20in%20Cyprus%20by%20Turkey.pdf

    “The fate of the churches and monasteries (Orthodox, Maronite and Armenian) is
    indicative of the systematic and deliberate policies of the occupation regime.

    125 Churches have been turned into mosques, an old Islamic tradition in occupied territories
    67 have been turned into stables or hay warehouses
    57 have become museums, cultural centers and hotels
    17 have become hostels, restaurants and military warehouses
    25 have been demolished
    229 have been totally desecrated.”

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