Friday, June 03, 2005
Comments on the NPR reports on the Srebenica films
I listened to the NPR broadcast about the massacres of Muslim men and boys. This film is proof, it is JNA film, the men who did these deeds were not only Serbs from Bosnia, but Serbs from Serbia, the worst part for me was to listen to the priest who blessed the perpetrators before the deed was done. That brings me to a story of a great priest who used to live in our Gulag.
His name was Father Pat Hurley. He was a handsome tall black haired Irish American with ancestors from the North of Ireland. His most famous homily in the Gulag is known to all who were present as the day Father Pat said 'God damn it ! ' in church.
He said 'I want today to speak of blasphemy' Everyone settled down for a boreing sermon. he then said 'I want to ask a question, a carpenter hits his thumb with his hammer and cries out 'God damn it straight to Hell!' has the carpenter blasphemed? raise your hand if you think he took the Lord's name in vain, raise your hand if you think I just took the Lord's name in vain. I and my children were among the five who did NOT raise our hands.
'A priest goes to an army base and says prayers and sprinkles holy water on the tanks, the bombs or the planes, has he committed blasphemy? again if you think he did raise your hand. My hand and the hands of my two children were in that church the ONLY raised hands!
Jesus came here to give us peace. I have read my Rebecca West like anyone who has bothered to read about the Balkans, and I read what she said about the Serbians not haveing combined Christianity with pacefism. Still even so, this was a massacre, not an act of war, as defending one's nation on the battle would be, it was not even on the level of an attack on a battle field, it was a massacre. I can sort of understand a priest blessing the troops of his nation, it is wrong but I can understand the impulse.
To bless men in the names of 'all our holy saints' I heard the words clearly. A few friends of mine online say that my abilities to speak Bosnian are not gramatical, that's fine, they probably are not. I learned what I between the age of 47, and the age I am now which is 52. You cannot expect perfection out of someone my age who is mostly self taught. I cannot speak perfectly,I cannot write perfectly but I understand just fine, there was not one word which was unfamiliar to me, not one case, and the accent was totally understandable, I can tell you the translator translated perfectly, exactly.
A priest, of any faith, of any denomination, of any religion doing such a thing before a massacre of unarmed people is committing blasphemy.
May God judge him.
Several have commented that Mladic will soon be arrested. I remember very well the news film of Mladic saying that he would not hurt anyone, I remember very well too the news film of the women and children being driven out in dump trucks, and that boys as young as 12 or 13 to men as old as their 70s being separated out. Now no one can deny anymore what happened.
I hope he is arrested. I hope for the sake of the Serbian people that it is their government which arrests him, not outsiders. I hope too that the other architects of that age of horrors are arrested, and are not spared the justice of man or the wrath of God.
His name was Father Pat Hurley. He was a handsome tall black haired Irish American with ancestors from the North of Ireland. His most famous homily in the Gulag is known to all who were present as the day Father Pat said 'God damn it ! ' in church.
He said 'I want today to speak of blasphemy' Everyone settled down for a boreing sermon. he then said 'I want to ask a question, a carpenter hits his thumb with his hammer and cries out 'God damn it straight to Hell!' has the carpenter blasphemed? raise your hand if you think he took the Lord's name in vain, raise your hand if you think I just took the Lord's name in vain. I and my children were among the five who did NOT raise our hands.
'A priest goes to an army base and says prayers and sprinkles holy water on the tanks, the bombs or the planes, has he committed blasphemy? again if you think he did raise your hand. My hand and the hands of my two children were in that church the ONLY raised hands!
Jesus came here to give us peace. I have read my Rebecca West like anyone who has bothered to read about the Balkans, and I read what she said about the Serbians not haveing combined Christianity with pacefism. Still even so, this was a massacre, not an act of war, as defending one's nation on the battle would be, it was not even on the level of an attack on a battle field, it was a massacre. I can sort of understand a priest blessing the troops of his nation, it is wrong but I can understand the impulse.
To bless men in the names of 'all our holy saints' I heard the words clearly. A few friends of mine online say that my abilities to speak Bosnian are not gramatical, that's fine, they probably are not. I learned what I between the age of 47, and the age I am now which is 52. You cannot expect perfection out of someone my age who is mostly self taught. I cannot speak perfectly,I cannot write perfectly but I understand just fine, there was not one word which was unfamiliar to me, not one case, and the accent was totally understandable, I can tell you the translator translated perfectly, exactly.
A priest, of any faith, of any denomination, of any religion doing such a thing before a massacre of unarmed people is committing blasphemy.
May God judge him.
Several have commented that Mladic will soon be arrested. I remember very well the news film of Mladic saying that he would not hurt anyone, I remember very well too the news film of the women and children being driven out in dump trucks, and that boys as young as 12 or 13 to men as old as their 70s being separated out. Now no one can deny anymore what happened.
I hope he is arrested. I hope for the sake of the Serbian people that it is their government which arrests him, not outsiders. I hope too that the other architects of that age of horrors are arrested, and are not spared the justice of man or the wrath of God.
# posted by Katja R. @ 6:57 PM 
