More than just a minor behind Fr Andrea Santoro’s murder

Some strange things here (link).

Some excerpts:

A Roman volunteer, Loredana, was working with Fr Andrea. She was a witness to the crime. From a window in a corridor looking onto the church, she saw a young man, who was not the 15-year-old suspect, looking suspiciously from right to left at the door of the church. After a few seconds, when she went into the church, she saw only the arm and hand pointing a pistol and shooting Fr Andrea’s shoulders. From three, four metres away, the first bullet went precisely to the heart of Fr Andrea, who was kneeling in prayer. Just like a professional killer, while the boy held to be guilty said he had only ever shot on computer: it was the first time he was pointing a real weapon. The second bullet hit Fr Andrea as he was falling. She distinctly heard the shout “Allah ekber” (Allah is great) which came from the killer as he escaped, and it was certainly not the voice of an adolescent.

As well as:

As long as the press continues its denigrating campaign with insinuations and suspects, always reporting about Christians and churches in a negative way, the atmosphere will remain poisoned, and it will be impossible to build a future of peace. Turkey is a marvelous country, rich in history, human warmth and welcome, but small fanatical and violent minorities continue to fight in the name of a nonexistent identity, appealing to religion and nationalism. Many newspapers are playing the game and even acting as spokesmen. Many fanatics use religion as a means of division, aggression and death in the name of God. This is the tragedy being lived out today in this land, where the Christian seed, that has wondrously sprouted since the dawn of Christianity, has almost disappeared.

That last line:

This is the tragedy being lived out today in this land, where the Christian seed, that has wondrously sprouted since the dawn of Christianity, has almost disappeared, Is so true.

We in the west now look to the Middle east and are shocked to see Christians there. Shocked to see Christians in the lands of Christ and the birthplace of Christianity. The sorrow of that fact is great indeed.