All Things Beautiful: The Grave Injustice Of A Senseless Death Sentence

'The Martyrdom of St. Mathew', by Caravaggio, ca.1599, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome

It makes me incredibly sad to think of Father Andrea Santoro, today on the day of his funeral. A missionary fidei donum priest working in Trabzon, Turkey, he was slain in cold blood in the name of Allah. It is very difficult not to feel hatred in my heart at this absolutely senseless murder of a holy man, whose only credential of being a Christian priest became his death sentence. Looking at his photograph, I see a kind and gentle face full of hope and tireless enthusiasm for a cause he made his vocation:

Pope Benedict XVI drew an emotional reaction from the crowd at his regular weekly audience when he mentioned the Italian priest who was killed in Turkey three days earlier.

"We cannot fail to remember Fr Andrea Santoro today," the Holy Father said. The crowd of 8000 people rose for a lengthy ovation in tribute to the slain missionary.

As the applause ebbed, the Pope continued with a prayer for the repose of Fr Santoro's soul, adding a petition that "the sacrifice of his life may contribute to dialoue between religious and peace among peoples."

The Pope disclosed that he had received a letter from Fr Santoro recently, in which the priest offered "a moving testimony to his love and adherence to Christ and his Church." In the letter, dated 31 January, Fr Santoro offered "a mirror of his priestly sould," the Pope said. He indicated that the letter will soon be published in L'Osservatore Romano.

Pope Benedict added that he had read another letter, from a member of the tiny Catholic community in Trabzon, Turkey, where Fr Santoro served. It, too, offered a powerful indication of "devotion and love for Christ," he said. The parishioner's letter asked the Pope to visit the Black Sea port town during his trip to Turkey in November of this year.

The body of Fr Santoro, who was a priest of the Rome diocese, was returned to Rome on February 7. His funeral will be in the Basilica of St. John Lateran today.

Pope Benedict XVI revealed that just yesterday there arrived "a precious letter" of Father Andrea, written on January 31, together with the small Christian community of Saint Mary's Parish. "It is an emotional testimony of love and adherence to Christ and His Church. But, above all, it is a mirror of his priestly soul and reflects his concern for the children."

Although a 16-year-old Turkish boy has confessed to the killing, saying that he was prompted by rage over the cartoons in European newspapers mocking Mohammed, some Christians in Turkey harbour lingering doubts about the crime, Bishop Luigi Padovese of Anatolia told journalists. The bishop explained that Christians in the region, live amid hostility in an overwhelmingly Muslim community. Some Christians question whether the killing was an isolated act, or part of an orchestrated anti-Christian campaign.

Father Andrea we think of you today and pray.

For centuries the liberty to distribute Christian or other non-Islamic texts has been unacceptable in Turkey. In recent years people have been detained and even deported for such activity.

It is one thing for Father Andrea to have been murdered by an individual influenced by the current "religious" riots that have done so much damage and led to various deaths and fear. It is quite another for Turkey's intelligentsia to think that the simple practice of having literature about one's own faith, printed in a language understood by local people, is a questionable activity suggesting criminal behaviour.

Were this simply to be the musings of a journalist, one would count it as just another sound bite. Alas! The idea that Christian literature in Turkish, distributed by faithful Christians, is suspiciously criminal, or at least intellectually unacceptable, prevails among senior army officers, university professors, Islamicist politicians, lawyers, doctors, journalists and many others.

Fr Andrea Santoro died on his knees witnessing to the God of Love whom he believed to be incarnate in Jesus Christ. He may have displayed literature about that love in a language that Turks could understand. He, against all the odds, bravely worked and prayed in a provincial Turkish city, simply for the love of the people around him.

Has the time come for Turkey to shed her misplaced antique suspicion and fear of a reasonable liberty? Should Turkey now draw on the industry and experience of her wonderful expatriates around the world who have dynamically proved the potential of Turkey in art, commerce, cuisine, diplomacy, academia, the law, and indeed every kind of labor abroad in freer climates? Should Turkey draw on the great breadth of her history and open herself up to the reasonable norms – as expressed in the European Convention on Human Rights - of the societies whose friendship she now espouses?

Why do we in turn allow the Islam preachings to be carried out in English? I don't know, everything is upside down in our democratic world which simply gives license to get royally screwed! Sorry about the foul language but it's just how I feel about it today. FED UP!

Jeff @ Kinshasa has bad news: "Rather disheartening. Apparently, the EU commissioner for justice, freedom and security, is proposing a "voluntary" code of conduct for the Euro-media, one that would reconcile "two fundamental freedoms, the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion". They would be reconciled by interpreting the concept of "freedom of religion," which I think we all would agree is a core Western value, as meaning religion cannot be criticized. I would assume most of us would not see as a Western value, core or otherwise."

Christian religion is banned in the Islamic countries, it is considered criminal to preach Christianity or for that matter any other religion other than their own, people are getting shot left right center, blown up and discriminated against in their own countries. Christian churches are banned in Islamic countries and London is building the largest mosque in Europe. Eh?

Can you explain to me why we are so tolerant at the risk of losing our own freedom. And now the Muslims wish to change our law to suit their own warped beliefs. Perhaps there is not much difference between Shari'a and our exquisitely refined multicultural sensitivity after all.

Siggy attacks our self imposed blindness with a seering truth:

In fact, the well meaning and overly thoughtful pundits in the MSM, most of the blogosphere and in an the hallowed (if often shallow) halls of academia, have it wrong.

We do not need to assure Muslims that we are caring. We do not need to bestow a status upon Islam that we not bestow upon other religions and other faiths. Muslims are not special and they are not deserving of special status.

Why? Because in a free society, we don't care about your beliefs. We do care about your actions and behavior. You are free to integrate and to assimilate into our society in whole or in part. We really don't care. Do not tell us we need to care about your beliefs and your concerns above all else and above our own beliefs. If you do try to make that assertion, you will soon be surprised at how easily you will be marginalized and resented- not for your beliefs, but rather, for your attempt to jump to the head of line. You are not more important than anyone else.

We don't care if your are a Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Hindu. You are free to worship as you believe. In fact, that is the last thing we worry about. America and free nations have long ago dispensed with the notion that what you believe how you believe, is relevant to peaceful existence. Notwithstanding the religious voices from the pulpits and the media, America has learned to live and let live.

We want to know if you are a good neighbor or an honest business person. We want to know that you'll make sure to keep a watchful eye on your kids and ours, in the neighborhood we live in. We don't really care how you dress (any more than they care how we dress) and we don't care what language you speak in your home. We don't care which newspapers you read or which TV news broadcast you watch. In fact, you are free to change the channel.

Let's repeat that- you are free to change the channel, read another newspaper or listen to another radio channel.

If you don't like offensive cartoons (and we don't blame you!), you are free not to buy that paper or cancel your subscription. You are free to boycott advertisers and write scathing letters to the editor.

You are not free to react violently or to threaten those you disagree with. Western democracies are just that- free societies and we do not operate under the 'laws of the jungle.' If we did, we would not take kindly to even the first display of barbaric behavior. Your dissent is a right. But it is also a privilege, contained in the same way a painting is contained in a frame. You are free to paint the canvas as you please- as long as you stay within the borders of what is deemed acceptable behavior- that is, behavior that is non violent or destructive.

Just as clearly, we are free to ignore your protests or disagree with your expressions. That is our right- to ignore you- and there is nothing you can do to change that. Your protests are not a mandate of recognition or credibility.

For many, the concept is a difficult one to assimilate. They come from cultures where they are a part of a majority- a culture and society that often persecute minorities and a culture and society the routinely afford that majority with privileges not afforded others.

Robbie Williams is singing for his supper, and has a peace plan. I guess he'll be running for Prime Minister next, well at least he's cute. Ahem.

Kenny Pierce is advocating world harmony, and peace amongst all men,, and Erik @ No Pasaran :

Apologies create a kind of social precedent which undermines the sophistication of the democratic model by making all hurt feelings equally regrettable, no matter what scale the issue. Intended for domestic consumption, they are more of a crud populum that the “Arab street” will not understand, not take seriously, and shortly forget since the same act will be played again.

Comments

You're right, Alexandra. Father Andrea Santoro did have a very kind face. A lot going on in there. Too, too bad that this spark will glow no more down here on earth, where light is so, so needed.

Posted by: buddy larsen | Saturday, February 11, 2006 at 02:03 PM

Dear Alexandra,

Your comments on courage and your father's philosophy will take some reflecting upon. As a student of Aristotle and Aquinas, I know (and teach) that courage, prudence, wisdom and justice depend on each other, but as the fellow upon whom I wrote my dissertation put it, the social problem will never be solved if we do not go beyond justice and apply the principle of love.

On this post, to want to have people in OTHER sovereign states be obliged by your law is simply a sign of unbalanced reasoning. I am not opposed to legislating important moral beliefs, so long as you let people leave. (Of course the Commies did not allow emigration because the moral legislation was so immoral and totally undemocratic that everyone would have left.)

But where you are a smallish minority, in a pluralistic society, when in Rome do as the Romans do, or leave.

Moslems do not think this way, and all the vaunted talk about Islamic toleration is bunk. Non-Moslems are and always have been 2nd class citizens and even had to pay special taxes.

I've put a chronology of Islamic conquest and attacks on the West, edited way down from the full insane list at University of Southern California. It's quite instructive.

http://thomistic.blogspot.com/2006/02/religion-of-peace.html

Thanks, and sorry for any earlier misunderstanding.

Yours truly,
D. Ox

Posted by: Dumb Ox | Thursday, February 09, 2006 at 09:32 PM