1. Home
  2. NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
  3. Pope condemns ‘murderous folly’ of terrorism after attacks
Police investigate the crime scene early Nov. 1 after a man driving a rented pickup truck ran down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path alongside the Hudson River in New York City. The incident occurred near the World Trade Center memorial, killing at least eight and seriously injuring 11 in what the Mayor Bill de Blasio called "a particularly cowardly act of terror." (CNS photo/Andrew Kelly, Reuters)
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Pope condemns ‘murderous folly’ of terrorism after attacks

Posted on November 4, 2017 at 9:50 pm by admin
922 0

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis prayed for victims of the terrorist attack in New York, as well as victims of other terror attacks, and condemned the murder of innocent men and women in the name of God.

After praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Nov. 1, the pope said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack in New York Oct. 31 that left at least eight people dead and 11 others injured when pedestrians and bicyclists were mowed down by a driver in a pickup truck.

“We ask the Lord to convert the hearts of terrorists and free the world from hatred and from the murderous folly that abuses the name of God to spread death,” he said.

Police in New York identified the suspect as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, who has been in the United States on a visa since 2010. He allegedly drove 20 blocks along a busy bike path near the World Trade Center at about 3 p.m. Eastern time before he slammed into a school bus.

After being shot by police, he was taken into custody and admitted to a hospital for treatment of his wounds, which were not believed to be life-threatening.

Pope Francis also prayed for victims of recent terrorist attacks in Somalia and Afghanistan.

Five Al-Shabaab militants stormed a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 28, killing 23 people and wounding dozens. The attack occurred two weeks after the terrorist group detonated a truck carrying military-grade explosives in one of the deadliest massacres in the country’s history.

In Afghanistan, an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 people Oct. 31 after blowing himself up near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. The explosion also left 20 people wounded.

“In deploring such acts of violence, I pray for the dead, the wounded and their families,” Pope Francis said.

Related Post

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Poor people from the Amazon have shown that God's creation must be treated "not as a resource to be exploited but as a home to be preserved, with trust in God," Pope Francis said. He celebrated Mass Oct. 27 to mark the end of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, which brought together bishops, priests and religious, and lay men and women, including indigenous people, from the nine Amazonian countries. Synod participants, some wearing their native dress and feathered headdresses, led the procession into St. Peter's Basilica. During the offertory, an indigenous woman presented the pope with a plant. Their presence was a reminder of the pope's rebuke to a bishop who had made a derogatory comment about an indigenous man wearing his headdress at the synod's opening Mass on Oct. 6. Instead of using a crosier made of precious metals, the pope carried a carved wooden crosier that the Vatican said was a gift from the synod. During the assembly, participants described the environmental devastation and social problems caused by mining in the Amazon. Pope Francis' homily about the Gospel parable of the self-righteous Pharisee and the tax collector drew parallels to the situation in the Amazon. It also appeared to address critics who have called the synod heretical. The Pharisee was "the most pious and devout figure of the time, and the tax collector, the public sinner par excellence," Pope Francis said. But in Jesus' eyes, "the one who is good but presumptuous fails; the one who is a disaster but humble is exalted by God." The Pharisee "stands in the temple of God, but he practices another religion, the religion of 'I,' and many popular groups, Christian and Catholic, follow this path," Pope Francis said. "The drama of this man is that he is without love." In contrast, the tax collector's prayer for mercy "is born from the heart," the pope said. "To pray is to stand before God’s eyes, without illusions, excuses or justifications." Everyone is both Pharisee and tax collector, the pope said. "We are a bit tax collectors because we are sinners, and a bit Pharisees because we are … masters of the art of self-justification." The Pharisee's attitude is apparent in "those who are prominent" considering others to be "backward and of little worth, despise their traditions, erase their history, occupy their lands, and usurp their goods," he added. The pope's words echoed the accounts of indigenous observers at the synod, who described a history of plundering of timber, rubber, minerals and other natural resources in the Amazon. That rapaciousness has displaced people from their land and spurred violence, including human trafficking and the murder of people who try to defend their territories. "In this synod we have had the grace of listening to the voices of the poor and reflecting on the precariousness of their lives," Pope Francis said. The "scarred face of the Amazon region," he said, shows that past experience has not been enough "to stop the plundering of other persons and the inflicting of wounds on our brothers and sisters and on our sister earth." The pope's language throughout the synod has echoed the words of his namesake, St. Francis, who praised God through his brothers, wind and air, and his sister, Mother Earth. Nevertheless, the gathering was sharply criticized by some Catholic groups that claimed it was heretical. The critics, who were active on social media during the synod, also claimed that a carved image of a pregnant indigenous woman that was used during some prayer services was a pagan idol. Pope Francis urged his listeners to reflect on "whether we, too, may think that someone is inferior and can be tossed aside, even if only in our words." "Self-worship carries on hypocritically with its rites and 'prayers,'" the pope said, adding that many people who fall into self-worship "profess to be Catholics, but have forgotten to be Christians and human beings, forgetting the true worship of God, which is always expressed in love of one's neighbor." Calling the poor "the gatekeepers of heaven," he said, "they were not considered bosses in this life. They did not put themselves ahead of others. They had their wealth in God alone. These persons are living icons of Christian prophecy." The pope paused during his homily to acknowledge the presence of "the poorest people of our most developed societies, the sick from the L'Arche Community," who were seated in the front rows in the basilica. He encouraged his listeners to "associate with the poor, to remind ourselves that we are poor, to remind ourselves that the salvation of God operates only in an atmosphere of interior poverty." "Let us pray for the grace to be able to listen to the cry of the poor," Pope Francis said. "This is the cry of hope of the church."

Christians must shun self-worship, pope says at synod’s final Mass

Posted by - November 2, 2019 0
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Poor people from the Amazon have shown that God’s creation must be treated “not as a…
Concelebrating a May 30, 2019, Mass in Pittsburgh during the Catholic Legal Immigration Network convening are, from right, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Orange, Calif., CLINIC board chairman; Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., CLINIC board member; Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh; and Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif. Members of CLINIC shared stories of success and heartache in their work with immigrants and refugees during the May 29-31 gathering. (CNS photo/Chuck Austin, Pittsburgh Catholic)

CLINIC convening focuses on how to gain justice for immigrants, refugees

Posted by - June 14, 2019 0
PITTSBURGH (CNS) — Almost every American has a story to tell about how their ancestors came to this country. It’s…