To me Christianity is about laying down my life not the life of others. I hope that I would die for my faith but not make others die for it.Lucetta Scaraffia writes in Chiesa that the Pope is being gagged and blackmailed in his comments on Islam. She states:
the dramatic killing of sister Leonella Sgorbati in Somalia on Sunday, September 16, is, unfortunately, a symbolic action of great significance. This is so for two fundamental reasons. Because, in fact, even in the absence of precise assertions, this is a matter of blackmail. And because the one assassinated was a woman, and a religious woman.Scaraffia continues:
... the memorable pages of the Japanese writer Shusaku Endo, which narrate the persecution of the Christians in Japan in the seventeenth century: some Jesuits, although they were ready to die to bear witness to their faith, were forced to commit apostasy by having the Christian country people subjected to torture before their eyes. A Christian can dispose of his own life, even to the point of martyrdom – and the countless Christian martyrs of the past century demonstrate this – but not of the lives of others: the killing and torture of other Christians paralyzes the real target of the aggressive action, it gags him, it prevents him from saying and doing what would be right for himself, until it impedes him from martyrdom.Scaraffia believes the Muslims who kill Christians are trying to force Benedict XVI to say only what is acceptable to Islamic extremists. If not, the alternative is for Christians in Muslim countries to suffer and die.
Alison, what would you do if you were the Pope?
2 comments:
Since you asked. . . Everyday when I homeschool, I read a life of a saint to my children. If they are a martyr, I ask this question or one like it, if people are torturing (me) your mother and say that they will kill her unless you say that you don't believe in God, what do you do? This fact situation always gets me killed. They are young and don't understand how hard it would be but I truly believe that I would rather die than have anyone--the Pope, a stranger, my children deny the one true Faith. Further, the murder is not on the one who keeps professing their Faith but to the one that commits the murder. I hope I could be a St. Felicity. Pope Benedict should not compromise. It would be hard for me to believe that the nun, who died mumuring, "I forgive, I forgive", would see it any other way.
All of these are easy to say from a computer. The thoughts horrify me and they are not easy. Pray for the Pope.
Alison,
We seem to have a natural instinct to save the ones we love from pain. Most of the time, that is very good, but not when it requires us to sin. The problem becomes more difficult when we are tempted to avoid doing our duty.
Will the Pope avoid any unnecessary confrontation with Islam? Yes. Will he avoid necessary confrontation? My opinion is, the Pope will do what he has to do.
Many modern Catholics think that pain is the greatest evil. They don't understand that sin is really the greatest evil.
I am glad to hear you are training your children to do the right thing even when it would be the hardest and most painful. With your love, good teaching, and prayers, you are making saints for the future generation.
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