Voice Editorial...June Issue

The killing of Osama Bin Laden by US Special Forces has been the cause of mixed feelings and thoughts for many people around the world. His death has been greeted around the world with a similar sense of relief that people must have felt when they learnt of the death of Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin.

It is natural to feel that as we come up to the tenth anniversary of the murderous attack on New York’s Twin Towers that the leader of Al Qaeda has received some form of just punishment for master-minding the killing of 2,977 innocent men, women and children.

However, the scenes of young American men and women crowding the streets and rejoicing at the killing of Osama Bin Laden, though understandable, have disturbed, even revolted, many who witnessed them on their televisions.

The Vatican issued a statement giving voice to the same disquiet, saying Christians can never rejoice in the death of a fellow human being: ‘ Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end. In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.’

Furthermore, Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, the most prominent Catholic cleric to speak on the matter, said that Christians should not only pray for the soul of Osama Bin Laden and for the souls of his victims, but should also remember the moral imperative to forgive one’s enemies:

‘I have prayed for the soul of Osama Bin Laden. We have to pray for him just like we pray for the victims of Sept 11. It’s what Jesus teaches Christians. Jesus obliges us to forgive our enemies. The ‘Our Father’ that we recite every day says that. “Does it not say ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us’?” It’s not possible to accept this prayer while holding on to rancour and cultivating hatred against our enemies. We are all sinners and we all need Christ’s forgiveness.’

The Catholic Voice of Lancaster is certain that the only way to truly defeat Osama Bin Laden and his evil influence that lives on after his death is not to rejoice in his killing but to seek mutual forgiveness and understanding between Muslims and the West. In response to Osama Bin Laden’s death the Muslim Council of Britain released a press release, that sadly received little notice in the mainstream media, under the headline, ‘Now let the healing begin’:

‘Few will mourn the reported death of Osama bin Laden, least of all Muslims. Many Muslims will reflect on the ten years that have passed in which our faith and our community have been seen through the prism of terrorism and security… Al-Qaeda’s ability to sow discord and mistrust between Muslims and others has caused untold damage. We must restore our belief in human dignity and peace by ensuring that we stand firm against all forms of hatred, injustices and violence.’

The Catholic Voice of Lancaster whole-heartedly supports the Muslim Council’s call that together we embrace this moment as a time for healing to begin between our two communities by standing united in our opposition to all forms of hatred, injustice and violence.