In what is rapidly becoming “business as usual”…
…a bunch of Muslims detonated a bomb outside of a Catholic cathedral in the Philippines.
This morning in the Filipino town of Cotabato City, a bomb was detonated near the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, killing at least five people and wounding some 34 others. After praying the Angelus at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his “deep rejection” of the attack and prayed for the victims.
The Holy Father explained that the attack is being attributed to Muslim extremists by the local police. The Pope told the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, “the explosion of a bomb in front of the cathedral (Cotabato) during the celebration of Sunday Mass, has caused several deaths and numerous injuries, including some women and children.”
“While praying for the victims of this ignoble gesture, I raise my voice once again to condemn the use of violence, which is never a decent way to solve problems,” he added.
The Pope is right to pray for the victims of this latest terrorist atrocity, and the condemnation of violence is also well taken. Still, at times like this, one is tempted to plead the intercession of St. James.
No, not that St. James.
