Reports of Islamic beheadings of Franciscans proven inaccurate
June 28, 2013
A sensational Youtube video, purportedly showing the execution of 3 Franciscan friars by Islamic extremists in Syria, is “mixed up,” Church officials have announced.
Islamic warriors allied with the Syrian rebel movement posted the video, claiming that they were executing the Franciscans at Al Ghassaniyah monastery, where a priest, Father Francois Mourad, had been killed earlier this week. But Franciscan officials reported that the friars had left that monastery, taking the body of Father Mourad with them, and were safe at another location.
“They are all alive,” said Father Pierbattista Pizzabella, the head of the Franciscan Custody in the Holy Land. He reported that no Franciscan remain in the region from which the video was reported posted. Father Pizzabella asked for prayers for peace in Syria, and for the unidentified men who were executed on the video.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
- Syria: The mysterious beheading of a group of Franciscan friars (La Stampa)
- Strong doubts expressed about the beheading of three Franciscan friars in Al-Ghassaniyah (AsiaNews)
- Syrian monk killed as rebels overrun monastery (CWN, 6/24)
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
-
Posted by: jg23753479 -
Jul. 01, 2013 6:31 AM ET USA
This is one of those good news/ bad news scenarios. The good news is that the friars are alive; the bad news is that Mohammedans continue a practice that has been their hallmark for over 1400 years, i.e. beheading their enemies. By the calculations of several historians, the official "Religion of Peace" is responsible for over 150 million murders since Mohammed first declared that violence had divine approval when practiced against unbelievers and heretics. It is the ONLY way Islam has spread.
