Pope Francis’ most recent airborne news conference, held coming back from Manila on Monday, was another sensation. It generated a couple of instant classic sound-bites, including why Catholics don’t have to “breed like rabbits” and his wish to kick a couple of corrupt bureaucrats “where the sun doesn’t shine.”
There were two other tidbits, however, that have been somewhat lost in the shuffle, both of which are important for understanding what is more and more a defining trait of this pope — his sense of urgency.
One of those nuggets is about a book; the other, a trip.
As he has before, Francis went out of his way to invoke an apocalyptic 1907 novel by an English convert from Anglicanism called “Lord of the World.” The novel lays out a dystopic vision of a final conflict between secular humanism and Catholicism, with the showdown taking place on the fields of Armageddon.
Author Robert Hugh Benson depicts a world in which Marxism and secularism have run the table, culminating in a charismatic “savior” figure, increasingly recognizable as the Anti-Christ, who arises to lead a one-world government. Attacks on Christian symbols and believers mount, and euthanasia is widely practiced.
African Catholics in the line of fire
Speaking of Africa, in recent days Niger has become the latest epicenter of radical Islamic violence.
It’s a country of 17 million in Western Africa that’s overwhelmingly Muslim, where a tiny community of 22,000 Catholics finds itself in the line of fire because of Muslim outrage over the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s mocking depictions of Muhammad.
According to media reports, 15 people have been killed in a wave of recent attacks, with more than 130 injured. Some 45 churches, an orphanage, and a Christian school have been burned down in Niamey, Niger’s capital.
In response to the assaults, all Catholic activity in Niger has been suspended, including celebration of Sunday Mass. Niamey’s Archbishop Michael Cartateguy told Vatican Radio on Thursday that 12 of the country’s 14 Catholic parishes have been completely ransacked.
“Nothing was left; everything was burned down,” Cartateguy said.
The prelate said that Catholics in Niger are having a hard time understanding what’s going on, after years of peaceful coexistence.
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