Three New Martyrs for the Catholic Faith -- killed by Islamic terrorist inside a Basilica in Nice, France

No one wants to die a violent death. But, since Antiquity, Christians have received some comfort from the knowledge that those killed "in odium Fidei", even if not baptized, are Martyrs for Christ that enjoy the full presence of the Lord in Heaven immediately after death.

So, it is with great sadness that we received the news about a couple of hours ago of the most recent Islamist attack in France. This time, right before Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady (Notre-Dame) in Nice, two ladies and a gentleman who was helping at the sacristy were killed in hatred for our Holy Faith. One of the ladies, in her seventies, was beheaded. The police shot and caught the terrorist.

In such matters, we Catholics do not pray for their souls: No! We KNOW they are Martyrs, we KNOW they are in Heaven with Jesus Christ Our Lord, and we KNOW we can beg them for their intercession to Christ the King for the Church on earth -- in France, in Rome (where the Islamist threat is downplayed, and completely ignored by a negligent Bishop of Rome, who has abandoned the sheep), and throughout the world.

Dear Martyrs of October 2020: Pray for us!

*

France is at war. As in the 16th century, it is a religious war, and there are only two possible conclusions: either France becomes a completely Islamic state, or a Free Christian nation. It will be a long and bloody war. 

UPDATES:

Great churches of France tolling their bells for the Martyrs of #Nice:pic.twitter.com/P31NR31oTY

— Rorate Caeli (@RorateCaeli) October 29, 2020

The three Martyrs victimized by the Islamist terrorist were a 70yo lady, a 45yo sacristan, and a 30yo mother.

This last Martyr managed to escape to a bar nearby, but died of the wounds. Her last words to witnesses in the bar were:

"Tell my family I love them!"#Nice https://t.co/NbQOGV71AO

— Rorate Caeli (@RorateCaeli) October 29, 2020

Correction: the younger mother was a Brazilian 44-year-old.

Aldo Maria Valli: If even the BBC wises up to the fact that Christians are being persecuted…

Aldo Maria Valli

H/T Ricognizioni 

(once known as Riscossa Cristiana)

June 4, 2019

Our persecuted and forgotten brothers and sisters in Christ

“The persecution of Christians is at a level near that of genocide.” This statement is from an unexpected source - the British BBC, which reports on a study commissioned by the Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt, and carried out by the Anglican Bishop of Truro, Philip Ian Mounstephen.

Reportedly, one out of three people in the world is suffering religious persecution, and Christians are decidedly “the most persecuted group, so much so, that in three areas of the world the level and nature of the persecution is ostensibly nearing the international definition (adopted by the United Nations) of genocide.”

In this regard, Jeremy Hunt, notes how Western Governments seem to be “fast asleep” and incapable of reacting or at the very least of showing sensitivity in the face of such a situation. 

Yes, Research Shows Christians of Asia Minor and Thrace really were the Victims of Genocide by Turkish Muslims

Turkey, of course, still denies it. But they created modern-style genocide and initiated the process that led to the current near-disappearance of Christians in the Middle East -- Christians who were until the beginning of the 20th century a considerable proportion of the regional population.

From The Wall Street Journal (excerpts):

When Turkey Destroyed Its Christians

From 1894 to 1924, a staggered campaign of genocide targeted not just the region’s Armenians but its Greek and Assyrian communities as well​

By Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi

May 17, 2019

Between 1894 and 1924, the number of Christians in Asia Minor fell from some 3-4 million to just tens of thousands—from 20% of the area’s population to under 2%. Turkey has long attributed this decline to wars and the general chaos of the period, which claimed many Muslim lives as well. But the descendants of Turkey’s Christians, many of them dispersed around the world since the 1920s, maintain that the Turks murdered about half of their forebears and expelled the rest.

The Christians are correct. Our research verifies their claims: Turkey’s Armenian, Greek and Assyrian (or Syriac) communities disappeared as a result of a staggered campaign of genocide beginning in 1894, perpetrated against them by their Muslim neighbors. By 1924, the Christian communities of Turkey and its adjacent territories had been destroyed.

De Mattei: “Europe will be Muslim, if it is the will of Allah”

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

March 28, 2018

For years now the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been officially celebrating May 29^th 1453 which saw the conquest of Constantinople by Mohamed II, along with the date of August 26^th 1071, when the Seljuks of Alp Arslān defeated the Byzantine army at Manzikert and founded the first Turkish State in Anatolia.

12th Anniversary You Report, from a Convert from Islam: Rorate Mass in Smyrna, Anatolia

The Traditional Mass can be a powerful instrument for the conversion of non-Christians. It inspires, in its great mysteries, awe and respect, it shows how great are the things in which we Catholics believe by how deeply we cherish what we celebrate. (On this matter, please see the FIUV paper on Islam below.)

This particular You Report post has filled us with great emotion: a convert from Islam who has fought with his friends for a Traditional Mass in the most unexpected of places, the once immensely Christian city of Smyrna (İzmir, in Turkey). And now they can celebrate the advent of Baby Jesus with the Traditional Mass of the Latin Church. What great Christmas gift, what great gift for our little blog on its 12th anniversary!

I am a Turkish Catholic, a convert to the faith from Islam. Ever since I joined the Church, I wanted the Traditional Latin Mass to be celebrated in our diocese. After much prayer and constant petition for 3 years, we have finally started to celebrate it on Fridays.

FIUV Position Paper: Islam

Jesus, a minature in 17th century Ottoman manuscript.

Today I am able to publish the latest of the 'Position Papers' of the Una Voce Federation (FIUV), on the subject of Islam. These papers have not only sought to defend aspects of the Traditional liturgy which have been criticised, but also to point out the usefulness to the Church of this liturgy in making the Faith vivid, attractive, or comprehensible, to particular groups inside and outside the Church: in Africa, in China, in relation to the Oriental Churches, to children, to men, to people influenced by the New Age, and now to Muslims.

I have put some additional commentary on my own blog here.

The paper can be downloaded as a pdf here. All the papers can be dowloaded as pdfs from the FIUV website here.

Abraham a Sancta Clara Against the Turks

On the eve of the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, the great Augustinian preacher Abraham a Sancta Clara preached a sermon entitled “Arise, Arise, Christians!” urging Austrian Catholics to prepare for the coming battle.

Abraham a Sancta Clara, born Johann Ulrich Megerle in Kreenheinstetten near Meßkirch, Swabia, in 1644, as the eigth of ten children, was one of the most colorful and brilliant preachers of the Baroque era. His sermons are full of drastic and amusing images and word play, often he would break into rhyming verse in the middle of a sermon. His sermons are also quite long. According to the custom of the time they were generally preached outside of Mass, and could last over an hour.

In 1677 Abraham a Sancta Clara was appointed preacher to the imperial court of Vienna. But during the Turkish war itself he was stationed in Graz in Southern Austria. “Arise, Arise, Christians” was published as a pamphlet and distributed in Vienna before the Turks arrived.

We present some extracts below in a Rorate translation.

Rome, September 1st, Islamic gathering at the Colosseum: “We want it as a place to pray”

Libero Quotidiano

August 25, 2017

Disturbing image of the October 2016 Muslim gathering

The appointment is for September 1st. On that day Muslims will invade the Colosseum  transforming it into an open-air mosque. “Il Tempo” reports that the Islamic community of Rome will gather under the Flavian Amphitheatre, as they did last October. For the Muslims the occasion is a prime feast: 'Eid Al Adha, the  Sacrifice of Abraham.  The  Bengalese Association Dhuumcatu  organizing it, has decided to transform Via San Gregorio, under the Arch of Constantine, into a mosque, “On this special occasion Muslims commemorate the Sacrifice of the Prophet Abraham”  [the Association] posted on their Facebook “ peace be upon him, and it will also be the occasion to express once again our indignation at the terrorist attacks in Barcelona some days ago, when 15 people lost their lives, including 3 Italians.” The Association continues: “these criminals have to know that those who are a danger to others, also with their words, can never consider themselves Muslims.” 

The Pope and Jus soli: He will have to answer to history and God

Chiesa e Post Concilio

August 21, 2017

The Pope and Jus soli: 

Political interference -- Francis will have to answer to history and God

A position that will inevitably trigger off much debate. In his message for The World Day of Immigrants and Refugees, to be celebrated  on January 14, Pope Francis has explicitly sided in favour of jus soli: “At the moment of birth, nationality and regular access to primary and secondary education  should be recognized and certified.” Bergoglio has also shown his support for jus culturae inasmuch as he has asked for the recognition of the right to complete an educational path in the host country. 

Psychiatrist, Dr. Alessandro Meluzzi,  who was interviewed by Intelligonews, has harshly criticized what the Pope said:

What do you think of the Pope’s appeal in favour of jus soli?

“I think the Pope should talk about jus soli in Vatican City. There he could distribute passports to all the people he wanted, seeing as it is a Sovereign State.  As regards citizenship in the Italian Republic, on the contrary,  I find  this an improper and very serious interference since the Law of Papal Guarantees (1877).”

Another Day, More Muslim-inspired Tragedies

Nine dead, dozens injured in the Berlin Christmas Market: may they rest in peace.

In the Turkish capital, the Russian ambassador is slaughtered under the cry of, "Allah is great."

Each day, the Muslim brutality increases in intensity and shock -- and an emasculated Western media becomes increasingly afraid of identifying the culprit. The culprit is Islam. There is no other. The religion of the scimitar, of violence, of murder, of sexual perversion will always be Islam.

May the sweetness of the coming Baby Jesus convert the hearts of Muslims and secularists alike, so they can one day recognize that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and that only He is able to make all things new.

First Priest-martyr of the 21st Century in France

During the 9 am Mass this morning in the parish church of Saint Stephen (Saint-Etienne), in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, in the outskirts of Rouen, Normandy, France, two assailants invaded the church, held most of those inside -- including the priest and two nuns -- hostage, and, before being killed by special operations forces, slit the throat of the priest.

Martyr! The martyred priest was Father Jacques Hamel, 84 years old -- may he pray for us in heaven!

So many Christians have been martyred in recent years outside Europe, also victims of Islam: It is fitting that the first priest-martyr of Western Europe in many years comes from the Eldest Daughter.

England in 2016

[Picture taken in Preston, Lancashire, by Adam Ferguson for a special series of photos for the New York Times - "Pictures of a Divided Nation"]

"The Pope's Weakness" - Submitting himself to Allah

Passage from the article "Liberalism caresses Totalitarian thinking"

The Pope's Weakness

Ivan Rioufol

Le Figaro

April 22, 2016

The obvious: nothing is less evident than a compatibility of political Islam, a totalitarian ideology, with democracy. Yet it is this problem that the Pope evades, due to his refusal to contemplate the confrontation between the West and the Muslim world, despite History and the facts. 

The Passion of Europe in Holy Week - Pray for Brussels

Rogier van der Weyden
Crucifixion Triptych (in the background, Brussels in the 15th cent.)
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

They have got what they wanted -- "they" being the Socialist politicians in Belgium who, for decades, in many cases making clear they were trying to influence demography for political reasons, allowed Islam to grow, become native, and grow once more, and radicalize, while at the same time alienating the Catholic culture that was the only thing which had made Belgium (that is, the unity of Dutch-speaking and French-speaking Catholics of the Low Countries) possible.

The Passion of Europe now goes on before our eyes, day after day. Let us pray for the dead today in the Brussels airport and in the Brussels subway system. But let us remember that war has come, and that it has not yet been won by Islam, as strong as it may seem today.

+

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

(Personal recess for several weeks)

Op-Ed: "Italy Already Deeply Infiltrated by Islamic Terrorism" - Let us pray!

During this Passiontide, let us pray for the slow-motion Passion of Europe.

Italy is deeply infiltrated by Islamic terrorism. The government must immediately declare a state of maximum alert.

MAGDI CRISTIANO ALLAM

Il Giornale, 13 March 2016

Pope: "Yes, we can speak today of an Arab invasion [of Europe]"

In his interview with French religious periodical La Vie, Pope Francis was asked about the current situation in Europe, and this was his response:

Pope Francis needed the Moscow Patriarch to force him to say some obvious things

We make ours the words of our friends of the Messa in Latino blog:

"An Orthodox Patriarch was needed to make the Church speak up on the family, Christian roots, abortion, and the persecution of Christians..., to make us Catholics say that leaves are green or that two plus two makes four."

As a blog that has always made every effort to keep unity of all Christians regarding the Genocide taking place in Syria and Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria and elsewhere, we know that this is the actual reason for the meeting, and cannot but hope that it bears some fruit for those Catholics and Orthodox actually suffering there in Syria, Iraq and in so many refugee situations in the region and elsewhere. For the record of historical events, the complete statement.

***

Joint Declaration

of Pope Francis

and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).

Melkite Archbishop: French bishops too politically correct, afraid in the face of Islamists

Many thanks to Gallia Watch for translating this important interview with Mgr. Jean-Clément Jeanbart, the Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo: The last Christians in Aleppo. We are reposting the full text below, with our emphases. 

(The original French text is on Boulevard Voltaire.)

After describing the dramatic situation the Aleppines are living through, the bishop addressed the journalists who had come to hear him.

The Mystery of ISIS

The Great Powers that can destroy a nation in days apparently have not ended their strange experiment of letting the "Islamic State" do whatever they want in most of Syria and half of Iraq.

After the genocide of Christians from the lands occupied by ISIS, they will not stop until every sign of Christian heritage is wiped out. Why, why do the Great of this world allow this?

"The mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way."... (II Thess.)

Lamont on Catholicism, Islam and the Neomodernist betrayal of Christians suffering at the hands of the Mohammedans.

Catholics and Islam

John R. T. Lamont

A special essay for Rorate Caeli

The recent terrorist attacks by ISIS have increased the urgency of understanding the ideology that drives the attackers. Catholics naturally look to the leadership of the Church for guidance on the nature of Islam, its relation to the ideology of ISIS, and the approach that Catholics should take to the threat of ISIS terrorism and to Islam itself.  Unfortunately, the episcopal leadership of the Church has not provided such guidance. If anything it has done the opposite, in Europe and North America at least; it has misled the faithful on the nature of Islam and the relationship between terrorist extremism and the main tenets of the Muslim religion. A good example of this deception can be found in a pamphlet recently issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, entitled 'Catholics and Muslims in Canada: Believers and Citizens in Society'. It is worth examining this pamphlet in some detail, to better understand both the character of this deception and the real content and implications of Muslim belief.