From the Assyrian International News Agency:

March, 5, 2011 4:20

A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometers from Soul, initially refused…

Read the entire article here.

Kudos to Al-Qaeda in Iraq for once-again demonstrating that Islam is a religion of peace. They have accepted, nay, warmly embraced and celebrated the credit for bombing a Coptic Church in Alexandria, Egypt, killing at least 21 people. They said that the justification for this terrorist attack was the recent conversion of two Muslim women to Christianity, presumably in the Coptic Church. The two women have been kidnapped by the group, and are being held as hostages in order to punish them for the conversion.

Meanwhile, back in the 21st Century where people cherish such things as “religious freedom,” the Church has seen a noticeable upswing in violence directed at its members, mostly Catholics and Orthodox Christians who are living in the Middle-East in Asia. Scores of Christians have been murdered because of no reason aside from that of remaining loyal to God, and not a sixth century shepherd whose mid-life crisis has led to the deaths of millions (peace be upon him).

Before any of you go and get your burkas in a knot, I would like to remind everyone that the majority of Muslims are, in fact, peace-loving and amicable towards Christians. This being said, the terrorists are still acting in the name of Islam. They aren’t acting in the name of Bin Laden, Martin Luther, Ghandi, or Mother Theresa. They’re acting in the name of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). While their irresponsible actions ought to be separated from the faith which has, directly or indirectly, led to such things, they cannot be. It’s impossible. Can you remove the Jewish authorities from the story of Our Lord’s Passion? Can you remove the over-zealous Spanish governmental officials who oversaw the Inquisution? Can you remove Queen Elizabeth from the story of the persecution of the English Catholics all those centuries ago? No. You cannot.

Pope Pius XII, a very wise and saintly pontiff, wrote the following in an encylical entitled “Ecclesiae Fastos,” and dedicated to St. Boniface’s missionary efforts to the God-less pagans in Germany and the northern reaches of Europe. I quote him here, because his words are especially well-suited to the situation of the Church now:

On the pedestal of the statue which was erected in the monastery of Fulda in 1842 portraying the Apostle of Germany, one reads this sentence: “The word of the Lord lasts forever.”[43] And indeed nothing more significant, nothing truer could have been inscribed there. Twelve centuries have passed, one after the other; different peoples have migrated back and forth; so many vicissitudes and horrible wars have followed one another; schisms and heresies have striven, and still strive, to rend the seamless garment of the Church; imperial might and the dictatorships of men who seemed to fear nothing, to shrink from nothing, have quickly crumbled; different philosophical conjectures, which strive to reach the peak of human learning, continually succeed one another with the passing of time and repeatedly assume a new appearance of truth. Yet the word that Boniface preached to the people of Germany, Gaul and Friesland, since it came from Him Who endures forever, flourishes also in our day and is the way, the truth and the life [44] for all those who willingly and gladly embrace it. Indeed also in our times there are not lacking those who reject this word, who try to corrupt it with fallacious errors, who finally, trampling upon the liberty due to the Church and the citizens themselves, strive to destroy and tear out completely this word from human hearts by means of lies, ill-treatment and persecution. Yet, as you well know, Venerable Brothers, this crafty art is not new; it was already known at the very beginning of the Christian era; Our Divine Redeemer Himself forewarned His disciples with these words: “Do not forget what I said to you: No servant can be greater than his master. They will persecute you just as they have persecuted me.”[45] But yet that same Redeemer consolingly added: “Blessed are those who suffer persecution in the cause of right; the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”[46] And again: “Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and speak all manner of evil against you falsely because of me. Be glad and light-hearted, for a rich reward awaits vou in heaven.”[47]

39. We are not surprised therefore if, today also, the Christian name is hated in some places, if in many regions the Church in the discharge of her divinely given mission is obstructed by any and every means, if not a few Catholics are deceived by false doctrines and forced into the grave danger of losing their eternal salvation. May all of us be encouraged and strengthened by the promise of Our Divine Redeemer. “Behold I am with you all the days that are coming until the consummation of the world,”[48] and may we obtain strength from on high through the intercession of St. Boniface who in order to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ among hostile people did not flee from long labors, rough journeys and even death itself, which he courageously and confidently went to meet in the shedding of his blood.

You can read the full encyclical here.

Why “dialogue” doesn’t always work:

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi security forces stormed a Catholic church Sunday where gunmen suspected of having ties to al Qaeda were holding worshippers hostage, ending an hours-long standoff, police officials said Sunday.

Thirty-seven people were killed in the operation, including hostages, kidnappers and security workers, they said. At least seven of the victims were hostages, police officials said, while another 57 were wounded.

Eight suspects were arrested.

“All the marks point out that this incident carries the fingerprints of al Qaeda,” Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi said on state television Sunday.

He said that most of the hostages were killed or wounded when the kidnappers set off explosives inside the church. (Remind me – when was the last time a group of Jews or Christians bombed a mosque full of civilians, with the only goal being the death of those same civilians?)

The Islamic State of Iraq later claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement posted on a radical Islamic website. The umbrella group includes a number of Sunni extremist organizations and has ties to al Qaeda in Iraq.

“The Mujahideens raided a filthy nest of the nests of polytheism, which has been long taken by the Christians of Iraq as a headquarter for a war against the religion of Islam and they were able by the grace of God and His glory to capture those were gathered in and to take full control of all its entrances,” the group said on the website. (This story may last a day or two on CNN, if that. But if a Catholic called Muhammad a false prophet (which he is) you could expect a lingering controversy. But don’t worry – the media’s not biased.)

An American military spokesman said that as many as 10 hostages died and that between 20 and 30 people were injured in the operation. Seven Iraqi security workers and between five and seven suspected insurgents were also killed, said Lt. Col. Eric Bloom.

Survivors of the ordeal said they were about to begin Sunday night services when the gunmen entered the church, according to Martin Chulov, a journalist for the UK-based Guardian newspaper who was on the scene. About 50 people were inside the church at the time, and a priest ushered them into a back room, Chulov reported survivors said.

The U.S. military spokesman said that as many as 120 people were taken hostage.

At one point, one of the gunmen entered the room and threw an unidentified explosive device inside, causing casualties, Chulov said.

The gunmen seized the hostages after attacking the Baghdad Stock Market in the central part of the Iraqi capital, earlier Sunday, police said. Four armed men entered the nearby Sayidat al-Nejat church after clashing with Iraqi security forces trying to repel the stock market attack.

The gunmen were demanding that the Iraqi government release a number of detainees and prisoners inside Iraqi prisons, saying the Christian hostages would be freed in return, according to the police officials. Iraq’s defense minister later said on state television that the kidnappers had demanded the release of a number of prisoners in both Iraq and Egypt.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the area surrounding the church, the officials said, and buildings were evacuated of civilians as a precautionary measure. At least 13 hostages, including two children, managed to escape ahead of the security operation, police said.

The Iraqi authorities ordered the attackers to release the hostages and to turn themselves in, warning that they would storm the church if they do not comply. A few hours passed quietly as military units took up positions outside the church, including several American units, said Chulov.

“Then all hell broke loose,” he said. A firefight erupted and Chulov said he heard three to four large explosions. Later, he saw about 20 ambulances race away from the scene.

The sad thing is, the persecution of Christians in the Middle East is nothing new. The problem has been around for over 1300 years, and not one thing has changed. Pathetic.