Updated: A news release from the Vatican was wrong, in part, when it suggested that on June 23, Syrian priest Francois Murad was beheaded. New reports suggest he was shot while attempting to defend his sister nuns. The report was correct in that Murad was martyred on June 23, by jihadists while taking refuge in the monastery of St. Simon.
The Vatican’s first release had noted, “The circumstances of the death are not fully understood.”
“Father François, 49, had taken the first steps in the religious life with the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, and with them he continued to share close bonds of spiritual friendship. After being ordained a priest he had started the construction of a coenobitic monastery dedicated to St. Simon Stylites in the village of Gassanieh. After the start of the Civil War, the monastery of St. Simon had been bombed and Fr. Murad had moved to the convent of the Custody for safety reasons and to give support to the remaining few, along with another religious and nuns of the Rosary,” the Vatican report continued.
The online community www.catholic.org wrote, “Make no mistake. Catholics and Christians around the globe are under dire threat, particularly from the spread of militant Islam. Until the threat is recognized and taken seriously, martyrdoms like this will continue.
“We have a link to video provided via LiveLeak. We must warn you, the video is extremely graphic.”
WARNING: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ead_1372329728 Warning
DO NOT follow the link above unless you are over the age of 18, and are prepared to view violent content of this nature.
In an update Catholic Online wrote, “Last week, we presented the story that Fr. Francois Murad, a Franciscan priest working in Syria had been beheaded by Syrian jihadists. The story was accompanied by a video which our sources claimed depicted the beheading of Murad.
“It now appears those reports, owing to the nature of the conflict in Syria, were correct except that the attendant video may not depict the martyrdom of the friar after all. Instead, the video appears to show that another cleric, as yet precisely unidentified, was brutally murdered.
“It now becomes a mystery as to who was martyred in the video. The reason why was explained in Arabic: those being killed were guilty before Allah and deserved death. The victims were identified as Christians. Jihadists have earned a reputation for dealing out summary justice to both supporters of the Assad regime as well as Christians,” Catholic Online continued.
“What is most essential to relate is that Christians all across the region are in great jeopardy as militant Islamist militias join the Free Syrian Army with the hopes of hijacking the revolution there and establishing an Islamic state.
“The United States and allies are now equipping these same rebels with modern, sophisticated weaponry … [Murad’s] death is merely the latest in a lengthening series of martyrdoms as Christians face an ever-increasing stream of violence at the hands of ever more radical jihadists,” Catholic Online concluded.
Tulsa Today has followed the religious persecution of Christians worldwide in previous stories by Barnabas Aid including the following:
Church in Egypt attacked twice by Muslims
St George’s Church in the village of Sarsena, in the Tamiya district of Fayoum provincein Egypt was set ablaze by local Muslims who later attacked the building for a second time while a “reconciliation” meeting was taking place.
Why Muslims persecute Christians and why the West ignores it
A new report has exposed the West’s blindness to the persecution of Christians around the world; it highlights how the “lion’s share” of this is done by Muslims, whom the media do not want to criticize over misplaced fears of “racism”.
Additional reports may be found on Barnabas Aid online here.
Barnabas Aid is associated with the Anglican fellowship. Anglican, Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical or by whatever name; those that believe in Jesus as Christ are united with people of Jewish faith in rejecting what Muslims and Marxists feel necessary – death most heinous for those of other faiths. (Yes, Marxism also a faith – the most evil, dishonest, deadly and unproven faith in history.)