Dear Father E:
I attended noon mass today and was happy when during the start of your sermon, you began to address 9/11. I was holding my breath a bit as the theme of the passages read prior concerned forgiveness. Essentially your sermon urged that we Catholic Christians ought to forgive the terrorist perpetrators. Then, it would follow, that we also should offer love and forgiveness to any who wish to destroy our country, our society and to those who wish to destroy Christianity, including any others that do not follow and practice their "religion". It was all I could do during your sermon not to get up and walk out. There was one thing that I stayed for; I did have to go up after mass and look at the church's display of the names of the nearly 3,000 souls lost that day. Where were the names of the 19 terrorist that committed those hideous acts? Why were they not included? Where was your forgiveness there?
This "feel-good" take on Christian forgiveness undermines the moral foundations of this great country, whose creation was based on Judea-Christian values. This doctrine turns the true meaning of Christian forgiveness on it's head. This latest take on Christian forgiveness amorally advances the notion that we as Christian and Americans will forgive any deplorable, murderous act; no matter how heinous. Is forgiveness not contingent on the transgressor first asking for forgiveness? Even Almighty God's forgiveness is given only if the sinner repents. As far as myself, or anyone else "forgiving" the terrorist jihadists for their acts on 9/11; that in itself is a particularly abhorrent notion. Forgiveness can only be given to the sinner from those that he directly wronged and sinned against. Thus, only those that were so savagely murdered that day are the only ones who can forgive their murderers. The following passage, I believe, more accurately represents our faith and our God's stand on forgiveness: Luke 17:3-4: "And if your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if seven times of the day he sins against you, and seven times of the day turns to you saying, I repent, you shall forgive him."
The Islamist terrorists comprise roughly 10% of the one billion Muslims world wide, or upwards of 100 million people who wish to bring about a global caliphate and destroy us and our way of life. The Islamists practice a faith or some twisted version of a faith whose "god" celebrates and rewards murder, rape, pedophilia and genocide. In my mind it is a religion more closely aligned with that of the devil. In short, I believe that to offer love and forgiveness to the terrorist's acts of 9/11 is to offer that same love and forgiveness to Satan himself. Funny, I don't remember ever hearing a sermon on that. Maybe next week; who knows. Even if, I'm not sure that I will be back again to hear it.
