Fr. Raymond De Souza published a short piece today on the recent “orgy of violence in Iraq”, in which sixty Catholics and their priests were killed while attending Mass at Baghdad’s cathedral, Our Lady of Salvation. A more anti-Christian attack could hardly have been orchestrated, with the Muslim gunmen shouting “God is Great” as they systematically killed the priests, then as many of the parishioners as could be dispatched before police arrived and their suicide vests came into use. Photojournalists documented the post-mortem scene inside the cathedral, and—let’s just say the walls were covered in blood, making Saving Private Ryan’s Omaha Beach scene look antiseptic.
De Souza expresses what strikes me as an entirely appropriate anger, not just at the attack, but at our apparent numbness to it. For one, it’s hard to reconcile our tepid indifference to a coordinated, systematic, religiously-themed attack on worshiping Christians with the widespread ignition of violent Islamic protest (and calls for death to Christians and Americans) in response to Rev. Terry Jones lonely, unfulfilled threat to burn Korans. He writes:
Indeed, the international community issued the usual boilerplate condemnations, most of them refusing to identify those responsible. The same statements could have been used had the Rotarians decided to massacre the Salvation Army. In the Church, too, there is often a reluctance to support vigorously Christians under attack, and to call things by name. . . .
Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. So Scripture teaches us, and so it must be for us, leaving vengeance to the Lord, and imploring the grace of conversion and reconciliation. But let us not blanch from raising our voices to the Lord, with righteous anger and hot tears, that He might visit His vengeance upon those who did this, bring down His wrath upon their heads and exact upon them a terrifying justice in full measure.
That’s not the language of imbalances; it is the anguish and agony of the shepherd when the flock is being slaughtered.
November 10th, 2010 | 5:14 pm
A River of Blood Watched With Indifference
I imagine there were some folks who watched the crucifixion of Jesus with indifference.
I imagine there are some folks who know about the crucifixion of Jesus and respond with indifference.
And my sweet Jesus says: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
P.S. FWIW, if my blood family was slaughtered like this, honestly, my reaction would not be one of forgiveness.
November 10th, 2010 | 5:57 pm
“P.S. FWIW, if my blood family was slaughtered like this, honestly, my reaction would not be one of forgiveness.”
Well of course, but that is what Christ calls us to do. It is radical, but it is undeniably Christian.
” He might visit His vengeance upon those who did this, bring down His wrath upon their heads and exact upon them a terrifying justice in full measure.”
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
I prefer the latter.
November 10th, 2010 | 7:11 pm
De Souza: “Then there was the statement by Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, which was utterly astonishing. After simply describing the massacre, he boldly pointed the finger of blame [within the Catholic Church]:
“The level of incivility in our national dialogue has reached a crescendo,” Farrell wrote. “Catholics in Iraq specifically link the violence against them by Muslim extremists to anti-Muslim demonstrations and threats to burn the Koran in the United States. Our actions have consequences far beyond our control. … I call upon all Catholics to tone down the level of hatred in their comments and conversations.”
The blood is still dripping from the walls of the Baghdad cathedral, and Bishop Farrell finds fault with a nutcase nobody pastor who threatened to burn the Koran, but did not do so after the whole world condemned him.”
Thank you for saying this Fr. DeSouza.
November 10th, 2010 | 7:21 pm
“Hence I do not know what to lament more: those who have been slain, or those whom they have taken captive, or those whom the devil has mightily ensnared. Together with him they will be slaves in Hell in an eternal punishment; for who commits sin is a slave and will be called a son of the devil.”
- St. Patrick, ‘Letter to Coroticus’
November 10th, 2010 | 11:35 pm
“I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne, they cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before Thou will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?”
Then they were given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves have been” Revelations 6.9-11
“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before God. And they have conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Rejoice then, o heaven and you that dwell therein!” Revelations 12.10-12
November 11th, 2010 | 11:15 am
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
This is all we should be saying.
November 11th, 2010 | 11:29 pm
I prefer the authenticity and simplicity of righteous anger. When Jesus said “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they do,” its unfathomable mercy astonishes me and shows me what God is; but I’m not easily sold when man reacts to unspeakable violence by quoting God. I’m not sure how thin the line between cowardice/indifference and facile magnanimity is. My gut feeling is that human forgiveness seldom comes gracefully but rather under great struggle and labor. We must obey the radical call of leaving vengeance to the Lord, but burrying anger and pretending God-like won’t cut it.
That said, I know for what I will light a candle during my holy hour in the morning. But I won’t tell the Eucharistic Lord that I’m not very, very, angry, that in the deep of my heart, I didn’t want His vengeance visiting on the slaughterers.
November 11th, 2010 | 11:43 pm
“This is all we should be saying.”
Ok that’s prolly wrong. Perhaps that is what we should come to in the end though? Whatever righteous anger we understandably express beforehand?
November 15th, 2010 | 3:02 am
“Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” Jesus uttered this prayer of forgiveness for His enemies for what they did to Him. He did not look upon another innocent man being killed and say the equivalent of “I feel your pain”.
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