Martyr for the faith

Richard A. Sokerka

Imagine being in church for Mass when Islamic State terrorists burst in, take hostages, charge toward the altar and slit the throat of the priest celebrant right in front of your eyes.

This horrible scene, once incomprehensible, is now our sad reality in this most troubled world. No one is safe, not even at Mass. The murder of 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel in his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy, France, last week has shaken every Catholic worldwide. This martyr for the faith had survived the Nazi occupation during World War II. Ironically, he died at the hands of this century’s terrorists close to the once bloody beaches of Normandy where thousands of American men gave their lives on June 6, 1944 to begin the end of the reign of terror of the Third Reich in Europe.

Afterward, French authorities said they found a list that had several houses of worship on it that were targets of the Islamic terrorists. This was not to be an isolated incident, if the terrorists had their way.

Pope Francis said, “For some time we have said that the world is in a piecemeal war. This is war. Frequently what’s happening is called ‘insecurity’, but the true word is war. There was that of 1914-17 (World War I), then that of 1939 to 45 (World War II), and now there’s another great war. This is what we are experiencing now. This war is real, he said, noting that while it might not necessarily be “organic,” it is organized. “The holy priest who died precisely in the moment in which he offered prayers for the entire Church is one, but there are many Christians, many innocent people, many children,” who suffer the same type of violence and hatred.

“It’s war: we’re not afraid to tell this truth,” the Pope said, explaining that the world is at war because “it has lost peace.”

Prayers for peace and for those who have given their lives for the Catholic faith are sorely needed but so are prayers for nations around the world, including ours, to fully recognize this threat and to protect their citizens’ safety from Islamic State terrorists.