A Crusade in the Nonce?

Pope Francis, ISIS, and the Last Crusade

“ The crucifixions, the beheadings and the mass executions of men, the kidnapping of women to be sold as wife-slaves to so-called holy warriors, the destruction of ancient civilizations and cultures, from Assyrian statues to Yazidi villages, and the systematic intimidation, extortion, and murder of Christians—all have a purpose that can no longer be ignored: Is the Pontiff of Peace advocating war? No, but the self-proclaimed “Caliph” Ibrahim wants his fight to be a true holy war on both sides, and his strategy seems to be succeeding. Pope Francis is walking a knife edge—or perhaps, better said, the blade of a crusaders’ sword—as he tries to mobilize support for Christians and other minorities victimized by the ferocious partisans of the so-called Islamic state. “Where there is an unjust aggression I can only say that it is legitimate to stop the unjust aggressor,” he told reporters throwing questions at him on the plane as he returned from South Korea to the Vatican on Monday. “I underscore the verb ‘to stop,’” he told them. “I am not saying ‘bomb’ or ‘make war,’ but ‘stop him.’ The means by which he can be stopped must be evaluated. Stopping the aggressor is legitimate.” The “him,” the “aggessor” in this case is the self-anointed “caliph” whose forces, formerly called ISIS, now dominate swathes of Syria and Iraq, and this is just the kind of reaction he’s been hoping for. The crucifixions, the beheadings and the mass executions of men, the kidnapping of women to be sold as wife-slaves to so-called holy warriors, the destruction of ancient civilizations and cultures, from Assyrian statues to Yazidi villages, and the systematic intimidation, extortion, and murder of Christians—all have a purpose that can no longer be ignored: “Take this sword and these arms in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost! May they and it serve you in this good cause, but never may they shed innocent blood!” Pope Urban Entire families abandoned their professions so they could prepare for the long journey to the Holy Land. “The Welshman left his Hunting, the Dane his drinking party, and the Norwegian his raw fish–all eager to join the expedition to the Holy Land,” said William of Malmesburry. Caliph Ibrahim, as he calls himself, wants to provoke a 21st century crusade against his Islamic State. He wants to force his enemies into a religious war arousing atavistic instincts rooted in the Middle Ages—the great glory days of Islam—that linger in the hearts of many Muslims around the world. And by every indication he is succeeding. With each American bomb that falls and each drone that flies over the territories the caliph has conquered, he comes a little closer to that goal. Perhaps there really is no choice. As Hilaire Belloc, a poet, satirist, Catholic historian, and author of a book on the Crusades once wrote in his couplet “The Pacifist”: “Pale Ebenezer thought it wrong to fight, / But Roaring Bill (who killed him) thought it right.” Certainly in recent days desperate men of the cloth, including some of the highest officials in the Catholic and Anglican churches, have played into the caliph’s hands by speaking out in support of the U.S. military action or calling for still more to be done—thus imbuing close air support with heavenly purpose that it probably can and should do without. Even before Monday, Pope Francis used language interpreted by many as an endorsement of war. There is a painful irony here. As recently as last month Francis was moved to tears by the carnage in Gaza, Iraq, and Ukraine. “Never war, never war,” he said. “I am thinking, above all, of children who are deprived of the hope of a worthwhile life, a future. Dead children, wounded children, mutilated children, orphaned children, children whose toys are things left over from war, children who don’t know how to smile. Please stop,” said Francis. “I ask you with all my heart, it’s time to stop. Stop, please!”  [Full Text] “Caliph” Ibrahim (wants his fight to be a true holy war on both sides) seems to be taking a page from Obama's playbook.  Well, ISIS are worse than Nazis, wouldn't you agree? To Moslems this is all about religion.  HERE, Dr. Scott Hahn, a leading Catholic theologian discusses the genesis of their belief which, they believe, has, like Christianity and Judaism, roots that go all the way back to Abraham.  And it does.  But .... there's a pig in the poke, so to speak. ”