FRANCE - Two hostage takers kill priest in church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, July 2016 *arrests*

[ZaZara]

"I AM A MUSLIM BASED ON THE VALUES OF MERCY AND KINDNESS' THE ASSASSIN OF FATHER HAMEL TOLD THE JUDGE.

LePoint
http://www.lepoint.fr/justice/saint...tice-27-07-2016-2057285_2386.php#xtor=CS2-239


Adel K., 19 years. He was identified as one of the two authors of terrorist hostage-taking in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, Tuesday, July 26 in the morning. Why, despite two failed attempts to depart to Syria to join jihadist troops, was he released on March 18 after ten months in custody?

It's March 2015, two months after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo. For some time now, the schoolmates of Adel K. no longer bump into him in the streets of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray. Still a minor, he has tried to travel to Syria. He passes through Germany, but the authorities across the Rhine manage to stop him and return him to France. The youngster is then placed under investigation for "criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise" and is subjected to judicial review.

Some time later, a legal adult in the meantime, Adel K again tries to reach Syria. An international arrest warrant is then issued against him. Passing through Switzerland, Adel K. manages to reach Turkey, where he is arrested. On May 22, he returns to France and is imprisoned. According to information from LeMonde, who obtained the court documents of Adel K., the young man has a bad time in prison and was "suicidal". In front of the magistrate, he assures regretting his attempt to depart. "I want to take up my life again, see my friends, get married," he says.

In October 2015, the judge orders an investigation of his personality. The findings will be reported to the judge in February 2016. Adel K. has professional projects. He talks about working in medical and psychological help. On the side of his family, it is ensured that he might be employed as a facilitator in a municipal leisure center. With regards to religion, the young man assures that he is not an "extremist." "I am a Muslim based on the values of mercy, on the values of benevolence," he explains. For the judge, this disturbed young man "is aware that he has made mistakes. (...) He would be determined to start the steps leading to integration. " His parents "sincerely think he knows he was wrong and he will try not to leave again." They will bring im "supervision" and "support", the judge certifies.

But the Paris prosecutor thinks little of all these arguments and appeals the order of the judge proposing to place Adel K. under an electronic bracelet. In his closing speech, revealed by Le Monde, the prosecutor concluded: "Although he has reported a mistake and requested a second chance, there is a very high risk of renewal of the facts in the case of release."The order is confirmed by the investigatory chamber and Adel K. is released from prison on probation at the home of his parents.

It is at this time that his friends from college and high school begin to see Adel K. again on the streets of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray. Enough to please some who have not seen him since the end of high school and ask him for news. But the "friendly, smiling and joking" college kid some remember has changed. "Everyone knew about his radicalization. He had become a little strange, no longer spoke to many people. He lingered a lot near the left bank theater in Saint-Étienne," Typhaine says, who was at the Paul Eluard college with him. "On the Koran of Mecca he said, I will attack a church. He said that to me two months ago when we came out of the mosque. On the life of my mother, I did not believe it," another relative recalls, who frequented the local mosque. Fitted with an electronic bracelet, Adel K. can only leave home in the morning on weekdays between 8.30 am and 12.30 pm. A window of time during which, on Tuesday, July 26, he was able to put his threat into action in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.


BBM


They all knew. They opted to look the other way.

 

[GeeEm]

July 28, 2016
6:37 AM EDT

France Church Attack: Abdel-Malik Petitjean Was Known Potential Radical


The second culprit behind an ISIS-linked attack that killed a priest in a church was a teenager reportedly known to security services as a potential Islamist militant.

French judicial sources told NBC News that 19-year-old Abdel-Malik Nabil Petitjean, was identified from his DNA.

Petitjean, who is from eastern France, and accomplice Adel Kermiche, also 19, targeted the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray during morning Mass.

They slashed a priest's throat and took three nuns and an elderly couple hostage. One nun later escaped and raised the alarm. Both attackers were later killed by authorities.


https://cdn.ampproject.org/i/media1...7bdbaab05fb13e37eec8.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg


Security services had opened a special file on Petitjean on June 29 amid suspicions he had been radicalized, a police source told Reuters. The government has said there are about 10,500 people with so-called "S files" related to potential jihadi activities in France.

Kermiche was not only known to security services but wore an electronic bracelet and was awaiting trial for alleged membership of a terrorist organization having been released on bail.

France's intelligence services had received a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency that an attack was being planned and subsequently sent out a photo to various security forces, RTL radio reported. Police had no name, only a photograph that appears to be of Petitjean, it added. NBC News could not immediately independently verify that report.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcn...petitjean-was-known-potential-radical-n618661

 

[ZaZara]

Here he is. Sweetface.

 

[ZaZara]

"IMPOSSIBLE, I DID NOT GIVE BIRTH TO A DEVIL"

BMFTV.com
http://www.bfmtv.com/societe/c-est-...e-la-mere-d-abdel-malik-petijean-1020360.html

Heated after a search of her home, Yamina, the mother of Abel Malik Petitjean, the second assailant of the attack of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, does not believe in the track of the investigators. For her it is "impossible" that she gave birth to a "devil".

The investigation has revealed the identity of the second terrorist responsible for the deaths of the priest who was beheaded in the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray on Tuesday: this was Abdel Malik Petitjean.
Like Adel Kermiche, the first identified terrorist, he was 19 years old and had a "fiche S". But for the mother of the second alleged terrorist, "it's impossible". Upset by a search of her home in Aix-les-Bains, Yamina defends her son with heart and soul.

"I know my kid, he's a good boy. I have not given birth to a devil," she said in the microphone of BFMTV. "He never spoke of Daesh (...) We are positive at home, we speak about the good stuff," she says.

According to Yamina, her son is staying in Nancy to see his cousin. However, she says she has had no news from him since Monday night, the eve of the attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.

Although they were unable to identify him at a first glance because of the injuries he sustained during the assault of the police, suspicions against Abdel Malik Petitjean were very high. His report in the files of the intelligence services did not have a name, but it did have a picture. A picture similar to that of an identity card found in the home of Adel Kermiche.
This belief was even more strengthened by the fact that the young man appeared since Wednesday alongside the first identified terrorist in a propaganda video released by Daesh. In this video they both pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization. DNA comparisons put an end to the last doubts.

Three relatives of Abdel Malik Petitjean are currently in custody, and computer equipment was seized at the home of alleged terrorist.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

FRENCH CHURCH ATTACKER - FROM TROUBLED CHILDHOOD TO ALTAR KILLER

Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-attacks-france-killer-idUKKCN1091UC


"He was a loner. He was a troubled soul, he was all alone in his head," said a neighbour of the Kermiche family house in a leafy Rouen suburb where the 19-year-old was forced to live under a court surveillance order. "All he would talk about was Syria."

A judicial source said Kermiche received regular psycho-therapy and medication between the ages of six and 13, at which point he was sent to school for pupils with behavioural problems. What role Kermiche's troubled background played in his conversion to a killer is not clear. Kermiche's radicalisation, however, was swift.

His mother told Swiss newspaper La Tribune de Geneve last year that Kermiche became "bewitched" by hardline Islamic ideology after militants attacked the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris in January, 2015. Two months later, he made his first attempt to reach Syria to wage jihad.

Investigators are digging into the relationship between Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Nabir Petitjean, who lived in a French alpine town 700 km (440 miles) away from Kermiche, and how the two communicated before staging their attack.

In audio posts obtained by L'Express magazine and whose content was confirmed to Reuters by a police source, Kermiche told about 200 followers [ on Telegram ] that going to Syria was no longer an option because of border controls, and urged them to launch attacks on French soil instead.

"You get a knife, go to a church, spread carnage, boom. You cut off two or three heads and you're done," he said.

Just hours before the attack, he posted another message saying "Download what's coming next and share it widely!!!!". He last logged onto the app at 9:46 a.m. from inside the Saint-Etienne church, but he failed to post any video of the killing.


BBM


he failed to post any video of the killing ........ heavens be thanked for that.

 

[ZaZara]

ISIS TEEN WHO KILLED PRIEST PASSED BACKGROUND CHECK FOR AIRPORT JOB

NY Post
http://nypost.com/2016/07/29/isis-teen-who-killed-priest-passed-background-check-for-airport-job/

Abdel Malik Petitjean, 19, worked full time at Chambéry Airport in the Savoie region, which is used by more than 250,000 passengers a year, until just three months ago, the Evening Standard reported.

He began working at the airport as a porter in December after completing his studies at the Lycée Marlioz, a high school in his hometown of Aix-les-Bains.

“Petitjean had no trouble getting through a police investigation and psychological evaluation,” a source told the paper.
“He was considered to be a hard-working, friendly young man who did not pose any danger to passengers or others using the airport. He got through the police investigation easily,” the source said.


BBM

His mother would agree.

 

[ZaZara]

PRIEST MURDER: THE FATHER OF ABDEL MALIK PETITJEAN TESTIFIES


OuestFrance
http://www.ouest-france.fr/societe/...-pere-dabdel-malik-petitjean-temoigne-4394850

The adoptive father of Abdel Malik Petitjean, identified as the second author of jihadist attack of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, presented himself spontaneously to the police in Bordeaux and no charges were brought against him.

A search was conducted at the home in Bordeaux of Franck Petitjean, his computer was seized and examined but "nothing special" was discovered and "no enforcement action has been taken against him," according to a police source on Friday.

According to Sud Ouest, Franck Petitjean is not the natural father of Abdul Malik. He had recognized him in 1997 before the registrar's office "when he was only 5 or 6 months." It is through his brother that he heard that his son was the terrorist killed at the exit of the church together with Adel Kermiche after killing father Jacques Hamel and wounding a parishioner.

"I have been broken, it's been two days that I can not sleep," Franck Petitjean says. He took care of the education of his son until his divorce in 2011. Then he went to settle in Bordeaux, where he worked as a welder. He assured Sud Ouest that he had not seen his son "for a little over three years."

"I was surprised. Malik was adorable. Credulous. Daech (Arabic acronym of the terrorist organization Islamic state, note) got to his head, turned his brain. I spoke to him on the phone at the beginning of July, he was with his cousin in Nancy. He said he wanted to come on holiday to Bordeaux in August," according to Sud Ouest.

Abdel Malik Petitjean, a 19 years old from Savoya with no criminal record, had been noticed recently by the anti-terrorist services. He was reported by Turkey in late June after entering the country and an "S" card was issued against him on June 29. Recent videos have been found of Petitjean's allegiance to the ISIS, who have claimed responsibility for the murderous attack.

"Malik was a very friendly person. All his colleagues, all his friends say he was polite and helpful," Mr Petitjean said. "He was a goalie in the football team. Frankly, he was a good kid. He wanted to work as a salesperson "

But, he added, "three and a half months ago my ex-wife called me and told me she was summoned to the imam of Aix-les-Bains with Malik. She explained to me that he was hanging out with the bearded guys. When I wanted to warn my son, he told me that I was racist. In three months, they managed to blind him and turned his brain. In the family and in his surroundings no one saw anything," he said.

"Now I fear for my daughter," who was born from his relationship with the mother of Abdel Malik. "I have no news. I'm afraid she retaliates because she was very close to her brother. I have pulled all alarm to get her out of there, " Franck Petitjean said, fearing she will become enrolled at her turn and "may take the same route" as her brother.

The sister of Abdel Malik Petitjean and the friend of the latter, were arrested Wednesday ad released on Thursday night. "They offered interesting insights into his route, but there is no evidence to show for their involvement in the facts," according to a source close to the investigation.

However, a Frenchman of 30 years, also from the family circle of Petitjean and residing in Meurthe-et-Moselle, was still in custody. Investigators are trying to find out "if he could have had knowledge of a planned attack preparered by the killer."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

MUSLIMS REFUSE TO BURY PRIEST KILLER KERMICHE

Sky.news
http://news.sky.com/story/muslims-refuse-to-bury-priest-killer-kermiche-10517064?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter


Muslims have refused to bury one of the terrorists who murdered a Catholic priest as he celebrated Mass.

Community leaders in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray said they did not want to "taint" Islam by having any association with Adel Kermiche, the 19-year-old jihadist who killed Fr Jacques Hamel in his hometown in northern France.

Mohammed Karabila, president of the local Muslim cultural association and imam of one of the town's mosques, told Le Parisien: "We're not going to taint Islam with this person.

"We won't participate in preparing the body or the burial."

Muslims in the town were supportive of the decision.


BBM


According to the French law, the mayor of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray will now have to decide about a possible burial.

 

[K_Z]

Quite an excellent (lengthy) analysis/ commentary, IMO. The issues France are grappling with are exactly the same as those facing the United States (and Britain, and Germany, and other western democracies).

As civilized, democratic societies, we are not morally (or otherwise) compelled to accept and welcome our own murders and the demise of our societies and culture, IMO. "There are no civil liberties in the grave."

There have to be limits to what liberals define as "tolerance"-- and I think we are "there" with leaders who advocate "tolerance" of those who are systematically and gruesomely killing innocents.

IMO, what is sorely needed at this point in time is "thoughtful, resolved, and reasoned intolerance" of those who are clear threats. We desperately need this from our leaders, in France, Germany, Britain, and the U.S., among other nations. We are far past the point where advocating "hugs, love, and tolerance" will keep us alive and safe from the actions of islamic terrorists.

Islamist terror could kill off the West's liberal values

I offer all this as a preamble to what I am about to say: to show that I genuinely understand why the populations of Europe should feel exasperated by the “back to first principles” discussion in which political leaders and commentators engage when faced with organised mass murder and acts of insane violence. Seeing innocent bystanders mowed down by a lorry, or quiet churches violated by homicidal jihadists, does not generally cause ordinary people to dwell on the finer points of democratic tradition.

Then suddenly we were plunged into questions of life and death on a much bigger scale. This wasn’t an academic discussion anymore. When there is a wave of indiscriminate murders of innocent civilians, it is tempting to decide that this is when the talking and the ruminations must stop. Never mind the speculation about alienation, or clashing cultural values, or threats to our usual standard of personal liberty. We are in a state of war – and that, it could be said, has traditionally permitted a suspension of the luxuries of privacy and freedom.

But scarcely any of this makes sense in the present circumstances. This is a conflict with people who are now part (often by invitation) of our own societies. Should a country refuse entry to those who will not accept its values, or do those values (of tolerance and acceptance of disagreement) mean that it must make its peace with them? If peace cannot be made, what then? How far do we go in abrogating our own standards of legality to extinguish the threat? Even when all the sloppy haphazardness of the security operation has been eliminated, these questions will remain.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...d-kill-off-the-liberal-values-of-the-liberal/

 

[K_Z]

Muslims go to Catholic Mass across France to show solidarity

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...ance-to-show-solidarity/ar-BBv4iCY?li=BBnbcA1

It's a start. I'm glad to see this symbolic gesture within days of the attack on the church in Normandy.

The bigger question is, IMO, what is the ongoing response from the peaceful muslim community in the coming weeks and months?

We need much more outspoken leadership, participation, and condemnation from those within the peaceful, law abiding muslim communities. This is a nice symbolic gesture of solidarity, attending mass. Hopefully, this fledgling gesture among muslims grows until it is a movement with a deafening roar, expressing firm resolve and intolerance for islamic radicals and radicalization. Muslims, those who are peaceful and assimilated to western society and western culture and values, must be part of the solution. Until that movement happens on a large scale, in many western countries, then, they are part of the enabling problem of radicalism and fundamentalist terrorism, IMO.

Assimilation and internalizing values is more than just moving to another location. Immigrating is easy and fast. Assimilating is hard and slow.

 

[dotr]

http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/World/2016/07/31/22655754.html
Classy and brave gesture, hope it gives the others greater confidence to report and publicly condemn these cowardly attacks, imo.

ROUEN, France -- In a gesture of solidarity following the gruesome killing of a French priest, Muslims on Sunday attended Catholic Mass in churches and cathedrals across France and Italy.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said that a few dozen Muslims gathered at the towering Gothic cathedral in Rouen, near Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray where the 85-year-old Rev. Jacques Hamel had his throat slit by two teenage Muslim fanatics on Tuesday.

"We are very moved by the presence of our Muslim friends and I believe it is a courageous act that they did by coming to us," said Dominique Lebrun, the archbishop of Rouen, after the service.

Some of the Muslims sat in the front row, across from the altar. Among the parishioners was one of the nuns who was briefly taken hostage at Hamel's church after the priest was killed. She joined her fellow Catholics in turning to shake hands or embrace the Muslim churchgoers after the service.

Outside the church, a group of Muslims were applauded when they unfurled a banner: "Love for all. Hate for none."

Churchgoer Jacqueline Prevot said that the attendance of Muslims was "a magnificent gesture."

 

[dotr]

Quite an excellent (lengthy) analysis/ commentary, IMO. The issues France are grappling with are exactly the same as those facing the United States (and Britain, and Germany, and other western democracies).

As civilized, democratic societies, we are not morally (or otherwise) compelled to accept and welcome our own murders and the demise of our societies and culture, IMO. "There are no civil liberties in the grave."

There have to be limits to what liberals define as "tolerance"-- and I think we are "there" with leaders who advocate "tolerance" of those who are systematically and gruesomely killing innocents.

IMO, what is sorely needed at this point in time is "thoughtful, resolved, and reasoned intolerance" of those who are clear threats. We desperately need this from our leaders, in France, Germany, Britain, and the U.S., among other nations. We are far past the point where advocating "hugs, love, and tolerance" will keep us alive and safe from the actions of islamic terrorists.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...d-kill-off-the-liberal-values-of-the-liberal/

Thanks for the excellent article,following article are helpful pointers on what to do if caught in the middle of a terrorist attack.

British counter-terror officials issued the following advice on how to behave in a gun or bomb attack:
RUN

Escape if you can
Consider the safest options
Is there a safe route? Run, if not hide
Can you get there without exposing yourself to greater danger?
Insist others leave with you
Leave belongings behind

HIDE

If you can’t run, hide
Find cover from gunfire
If you can see the attacker, they may be able to see you
Cover from view does not mean you are safe, bullets go through glass, brick, wood and metal
Find cover from gunfire e.g. substantial brickwork/heavy reinforced walls
Be aware of your exits
Try not to get trapped
Be quiet, silence your phone
Lock/barricade yourself in
Move away from the door

TELL

Call 999: What do the police need to know?
Location: Where are the suspects?
Direction: Where did you last see the suspects?
Descriptions: Describe the attacker, numbers, features, clothing, weapons etc
Further information: Casualties, type of injury, building information, entrances, exits, hostages etc
Stop other people entering the building if it is safe to do so

 

[ZaZara]

ATTACKS ON CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN FRANCE ARE GROWING

810 attacks on French Christian places of worship and Christian cemeteries in 2015


FOX News
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016...m-targeting-frances-catholic-communities.html

Unfortunately, similar attacks on Christians are rarely recounted, although ISIS has made its intentions clear: “the Christian community… “will not have safety, even in your dreams, until you embrace Islam. We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women….”

Certainly Islamist radicals have not ignored this proclamation, even though accounts of their successful efforts may be hard to come by.

Only a scouring of Catholic news reports exposes an ongoing litany of desecration, arson and abuse.
For example, a recent newsletter from Federation for Europa Christiana recounts (in French) the following:

“At Martigues…three successive attacks in May 2016: first the pastor extinguished a malicious fire on the altar of the church of the Madeleine. This same priest was later attacked and his eye was blackened….

“Then, at the Saint-Genest church, the same priest discovered the open tabernacle and communion wafers thrown to the ground…

“In April, 2016, all the crucifixes and crosses were shattered at the cemetery of La Chapelle-du-Bard….”

All told, 810 attacks on French Christian places of worship and Christian cemeteries took place in 2015.

Meanwhile, the National Catholic Register reported on June 6,

“In recent weeks, Catholics in France and Belgium — countries still recovering from brutal ISIS attacks — have been hit with numerous acts of violence and aggression, including fires set in churches, an assault on a priest, the desecration of a tabernacle.

“More than 100 Catholic websites… of churches and congregations were hacked by suspected Tunisian cyber-jihadists who call themselves the Fallaga Team.”

Tuesday’s murder of an 84-year-old priest, the grave injuries to a nun, and the hostage-taking of Catholics attending Mass suggest an escalation of these shadowy activities.

For political and ideological reasons, whenever possible French politicians (along with many other European authorities) continue to downplay such attacks. In response, few major media sources bother to report them.


BBM

 

[wendiesan]

There seems to be a lot of "under reporting" about these anti-Christian incidents, and assaults on women and children throughout Europe. This isn't helping people to protect themselves. IMO, it's going to lead to growth of vigilante actions. Politicians are more concerned about optics than about the welfare of the people they are supposed to represent.

 

[dotr]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...-france-camps-police-jungle-francois-hollande

Police move in to clears one of the many makeshift migrant camps in Paris

FRENCH police have launched a crackdown against migrants on the streets of Paris amid fears they are harming the city's lucrative tourist industry.

Officials had turned a blind eye as thousand of homeless asylum-seekers flocked to the scores of makeshift camps that sprung up around the city.

But outrage at a spate of deadly terror attacks, growing numbers of migrants living in squalid street camps and a drastic dip in visitor numbers to Paris led to the new hardline approach.

The migrants, many from Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan, have staged protests against their treatment at the hands of the police and there have been violent scenes at some the camps.

 

[ZaZara]

VIVONNE: PRIOR TO A MASS FOR FATHER HAMEL, PHOTO OF NICE TERRORIST BOUHLEL IS PLACED ON THE ALTAR


[video=twitter;766651917011333120]https://twitter.com/Christianophobi/status/766651917011333120[/video]

“In the church of Vivonne on 27 or 28 July during the Mass for Father Hamel, and according to a witness, the priest told the faithful present that the light of the tabernacle of the Divine Presence had disappeared or had been stolen, and placed on the altar was a photo of the Nice terrorist, the Islamist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. The witness is a faithful grandfather present at the celebration, and is considered very serious and credible by my friends who know him better than me.”…


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

EXPERTS FEAR ISIS TERRORIST KNIFEMEN WILL TARGET WESTERN CHURCH FOR THEIR NEXT ATTACK

Mirror.co.uk
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/experts-fear-isis-terrorist-knifemen-8702162

New counter terrorism advice is being urgently issued to vicars and churches this week over fears an attack on Christian religious institutions is now likely.

Counter-terror experts fear ISIS extremists armed with knives will target a Western church for their next attack.

Christian leaders are being warned to increase security and avoid wearing dog collars in public.

New counter terrorism advice is being urgently issued to vicars and churches across the UK this week over fears an attack on British religious institutions is now likely.

The new measures follow the murder of a priest by two ISIS terrorists in France last month, amid fears the same could now happen in the UK.

Experts warn that a terrorist attack on churches "is coming." Places of worship in the UK, which are 'easy targets' for extremists, are now being urged to take precautions and beef up security.


BBM


Not only in the UK of course. Every religious institution that does not belong to the religion of peace is a possible target.

 

[ZaZara]

CHURCH OF SAINT-ETIENNE-DUROUVRAY HAS REOPENED ITS DOORS

Itele.fr
http://www.itele.fr/france/video/leglise-de-saint-etienne-du-rouvray-a-rouvert-ses-portes-171146

The church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where Father Jacques Hamel was murdered by two jihadists on July 26, has reopened its doors to the congregation this Sunday, October 2, during a emotional ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Rouen. At the head of a procession of hundreds of catholics through the streets of the town, Mgr Lebrun entered the church after saying a prayer at the door, a door he had previously declared "holy". The congregation then entered the place of worship and the Archbishop placed the cross on the wall from which it had been torn down by the two jihadists. He then sprinkled with holy water the walls, the altar and floor, as well as the congregation, all according to the rite of "reparation" destined to cleanse the desecration of the attack. At the forefront were several representatives of the Muslim cult.


BBM

On September 14, a solemn mass was celebrated at the Vatican in Rome, in honor of Father Hamel

Itele.fr
http://www.itele.fr/monde/video/vat...ncois-en-memoire-du-pere-jacques-hamel-170618

This morning the Pope has celebrated a solemn Mass at the Vatican in honor of Father Jacques Hamel, murdered in his church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. Among the congregation, were 80 pilgrims from the Diocese of Rouen.
In the eyes of Pope Francis, father Hamel is a martyr.
He called upon his followers to pray for the suffering of Christians around the world.

:rose:

 

[ZaZara]

'TO BEHEAD AN ANIMAL, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT, WITH ENEMIES OF ALLAH IT IS A PLEASURE'

Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...aving-pet-cat-saddest-thing-moving-Syria.html

French-born Rachid Kassim, 29, is one of the world's most wanted men
Has been linked to murders of Catholic priest and policeman and partner
He gave his first on-the-record interview to a Washington-based academic

French-born Kassim also appeared in a propaganda video for Islamic State just six days after Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhel murdered 86 people in the July Nice terror attack, which took place in on Bastille Day.
In the footage he praised the attack, promised more atrocities in France, and beheaded a prisoner on film.

The 29-year-old is also believed to have run an encrypted app called Telegram, used by jihadists to share tips on how to carry out terror attacks.

'We believe that even a small attack in dar ul-kufr (non-Muslim lands) is better than a big attack in Syria,' he said.
'As the door of hijrah closes, the door of jihad opens. If I stayed in dar ul-kufr, I would do an attack there.'

He also used his first on the record interview to encourage his followers to carry out more atrocities.

'Before the attack, send me a video with an oath of allegiance,' he said.

BBM

 

[ZaZara]

THE INQUIRY INTO THE BEATIFICATION OF PRIEST AND MARTYR JACQUES HAMEL HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN OPENED


[video=twitter;852468024196116480]https://twitter.com/AleteiaFR/status/852468024196116480[/video]


The diocesan inquiry into the beatification process of Father Jacques Hamel, French martyr of Islamist terrorism, opens on this day when the Church commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and honors all its priests.

The diocesan inquiry, the first step in the process of beatification of Father Jacques Hamel, was launched on Thursday, April 13 by the Archbishop of Rouen at the end of the Chrism Mass [celebrated on Thursday of Mysteries], according to a statement from the diocese. The Holy Father had granted Mgr Lebrun six months ago a special dispensation from the canonical delay of five years that have to be respected before the opening of the inquiry.

"Father Hamel is a martyr!" the Holy Father hammered out during his homily, and his martyrdom, he insisted, "he accepted it as Christ at the altar, giving his life not to renounce Jesus." On September 15, 2016, Father Hamel's breviary was symbolically deposited in the Church of St. Bartholomew in Rome. A church entrusted by Pope John Paul II to the Sant'Egidio community - who work tirelessly for peace in the world - and devoted to the new martyrs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The process towards the beatification of Father Hamel will follow the usual procedure, starting from the diocese of Rouen. A process that will take several years, even if the procedure is simpler when it comes to a servant of God who died "in the face of hatred of the faith", as was the case of Father Hamel. The beatification of a martyr does not require a miracle because martyrdom is already a testimony of a special help received from God.


BBM

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