Over the weekend, the pope elevated a Philadelphia native, John Foley, to the role of cardinal. Of course, this got a lot of local press coverage.
But one report from KYW News Radio in particular caught my attention.
The report quoted the pope as instructing the new cardinals that they must be ready to act "even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith, for peace and harmony among the people of God, for freedom and the spread of the Holy Roman Catholic Church."
Wow. Spilling your blood to spread the faith. Martyrdom.
And it made me think of how some Christians criticize Muslim extremists for their emphasis on martyrdom to spread their own faith.
Fortunately, the Catholic Church no longer wages crusades or inquisitions.
But, in hearing some blood-thirsty right-wing nuts calling for the torture and killing of Muslims who they think are out to kill all Christians, I can't help but wonder: Is this not the pot calling the kettle black, at least to some extent?
Isn't Christianity supposed to be about loving thy neighbor and turning the other cheek?
Why the preoccupation with bloodshed?
No comments:
Post a Comment