False advertising for an Islamic beheading

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jul 03, 2013

Last week several internet sites posted a video that allegedly showed the grisly murder of three Catholic priests by Islamic militants in Syria. Frankly, I question the prudence of posting that video. What possible purpose is served—apart from prurient interest—by showing a beheading?

However, apart from questions of taste (which are, in this case, really questions of respect for human dignity), there was another problem with this video. As CWN reported last Friday, it was not what it seemed to be. The grisly scene was not the killing of three Franciscan monks.

Lagging several days behind, the secular media are now reporting that the video does not show the beheading of Father Francois Mourad, a priest who was killed by gunfire earlier in the week. But is that any real comfort? Father Mourad is certainly dead, and unless some tricky camera-work is involved, three men were brutally murdered on that video. I’m glad that the Franciscans survive, but I mourn for the men whose lives were taken in what amounts, it seems, to a “snuff film.”

The Islamic fanatics who made that video wanted to send a message, to promote their anti-Christian cause and dehumanize their enemies. We shouldn’t cooperate.