Monstrous atrocity, barely a whisper

Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church, Baghdad Iraq

An entire Iraqi Catholic congregation was taken hostage by Islamic extremists during a mass Sunday night.

The death toll reached 58 by morning, which includes terrorists, Iraqi special forces and the Christian hostages, along with 78 who were injured (these are not “cuts and bruises” injuries, they are “missing limbs” injuries).

An excerpt from the news article:

Shortly before sunset, the gunmen drove a black Jeep Cherokee to the church. They blew it up, destroying their getaway car, and set off four small bombs in the neighborhood. In a brief shootout at the nearby Iraq stock exchange, the militants wounded two policemen.

Seven or eight militants then charged through the front doors of the church, interrupting the evening Mass service. They rushed down the aisle, brandishing their machine guns and spraying the room with bullets.

They ordered the priest to call the Vatican to demand the release of Muslim women who they claimed were being held captive by the Coptic church in Egypt. When the priest said he could not do that, the gunmen shot him and turned their guns on the congregation, killing most of those in the front pew.

One woman told investigators she survived only because her father wrapped himself around her body in a shield that ultimately killed him.

During the next three hours, Iraqi military officials tried to negotiate with the insurgents who refused to back off their demands. The gunmen also called reporters from the Egypt-based satellite TV al-Baghdadiya channel. The channel’s Baghdad office went off the air Monday in a dispute with Iraqi authorities about their role in the incident.

“I only heard people weeping, probably because they were hurt and in pain,” said Rauf Naamat, one of the worshippers. “Most people were too afraid to produce a sound. They feared militants would kill them, if they heard them.”

More than three hours into the attack, Iraqi security forces turned off the lights. Naamat said he could hear a voice telling parishioners: “We are Iraqi forces. Stand up and keep quiet. We will save you.”

He said he saw a militant approach the security forces as they made their way to the altar. The man then detonated his explosives vest, unleashing a massive blast.

There were conflicting accounts of anywhere from one to seven gunmen blowing themselves up. According to two security officials, most of the deaths took place in the basement where a gunman killed about 30 hostages when Iraqi forces began to enter the church. One official said the gunman set off an explosives vest he was wearing, but the other said the gunman threw two grenades at his hostages.

This is by far the most disturbing thing I have read in quite some time, and yet the fact that the NY (Oops, SF* Thanks Uncle Brian!)  Giants won the World Series seems to be more important to various news outlets than this tragic affair.

More dreadful than the attack is the thought that the US may have caused this by eliminating Saddam Hussein’s regime, in which Christians reportedly enjoyed much greater respect and security.

Grieving and afraid, Iraqi Christians said Monday they may now join what Catholic officials estimate is more than 1 million fellow worshippers who have been driven out of the country by Islamic militants since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

[…]

The number of Arab Christians has plummeted across the Mideast in recent years as many seek to move to the West. The exodus has been particularly stark in Iraq, where Christians historically made up a large portion of the country’s middle class, including key jobs as doctors, engineers, intellectuals and civil servants.

One wonders what magnitude the actions of the Islamic Militants must attain before this ferocious hunger for destruction will pique the curiosity of the media… Maybe a plane or two will be involved?

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

-Matt