July 1, 2013
Bill Donohue comments on media reaction to news that a
Catholic priest was beheaded in Syria
last week:
It’s either because the mainstream media don’t really care whether Muslims have
beheaded yet another Catholic priest, or they just expect the followers of
Islam to act that way. Those are the only two plausible explanations that
account for the media blackout of what happened to Syrian priest François Murad
on June 23.
The beheading of Fr. Murad was not the work of some isolated madman; rather, it
was the work of religious madmen, cheered on by a crowd of Muslim fanatics. The
terrorists, Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda linked group, stormed a monastery in
northern Syria
where the priest was staying. As usual, they screamed “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is
the greatest”) while a kitchen knife was put to the priest’s neck. The jihadi
group was celebrated by men and boys who took pictures with their smartphones.
A fellow Franciscan priest, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, blames those who have
been arming the extremists. But this interpretation is incomplete: the fact is
there are few moderates in most of the Muslim world, so it makes little
difference who the West arms—the results are always the same.
It’s been a week since the beheading of Fr. Murad, and while reports were
slowly released, there was plenty of time over the weekend to report on this
insanity. Thanks to Catholic Online, which led with the story, as well as
TheBlaze and CNSnews, we are learning what happened.
It remains to be seen whether the big media will inform the public about this
latest act of Muslim barbarism. President Obama should issue a statement as
well.