muslims bomb Philippine Catholic cathedral killing 20 injuring over 100

[OneHungLo]

Media must have missed this one.

Filipino Christians are mourning at least 20 churchgoers and soldiers as martyrs after terrorists attacked a Catholic cathedral during Sunday mass in a heavily Muslim island in the southern Philippines.

Two bombs went off at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo within minutes, the first blasting through rows of pews and the second shooting from the entrance to kill scrambling parishioners as well as the guards positioned outside to protect the church week after week.

Mount Carmel’s iconic blue-windowed façade, facing the provincial capital’s town square, was shattered and the streets quiet as officials warned residents against large gatherings in the wake of the bombing. In a region plagued by Islamist violence, it’s not the first attack on the cathedral—but it is the deadliest.

Sunday’s tragedy comes less than week after surrounding islands voted to form an autonomous region among the Muslim strongholds in an effort to end ongoing clashes between Philippine forces and separatists. Muslims in Jolo largely opposed the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM), but were voted into it anyway.

The terrorists killed at least 15 civilians and wounded at least 90 inside the Jolo church, in addition to the 5 soldiers guarding the service who died. A local priest described the victims as regulars at the 8 a.m. mass.

“They bravely stayed in Jolo in spite of the threats and insecurities. I believe they have died for their Christian faith,” said Romeo Saniel, the city’s apostolic administrator, who noted that personal friends as well as congregational leaders, including the former head of the Parish Pastoral Council, were among the list of those confirmed dead so far.

“No words can describe the sorrow and pain that we feel these days. May they be given justice in God's time. I know that the friends of the victims (both Muslims and Christians) are mourning and in deep sorrow today.”

Parishes from all over the third-largest Catholic country in the world by population posted to Mount Carmel’s Facebook page to share their grief and solidarity.

Though the Philippines is around 80 percent Catholic, Jolo’s province, Sulu, is less than 3 percent. Most of the 31,000 Catholics on the island live in the capital, according to the Catholic News Agency.

One visitor posted on Facebook that Mount Carmel was the only church she’d been to where soldiers surrounded the church, ready for any threat. “Today around 8 a.m., the fear of all had arrived,” she wrote.

The Islamist terrorist group Abu Sayyaf has been operating on the island for decades and pledged allegiance to ISIS, which claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.

Over the years, Abu Sayyaf conducted dozens of kidnappings, including of Christian missionaries; Abu Sayyaf also assassinated the bishop of Jolo outside of Mount Carmel in 1997 and bombed the cathedral in 2001.

“The enemies of the state have boldly challenged the capability of the government to secure the safety of the citizenry in that region,” said Salvador Panelo, spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte. “The armed forces of the Philippines will rise to the challenge and crush these godless criminals.”

The president visited the cathedral on Monday.

The head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines shared the government’s concerns for the region, with Bishop Romulo Valles stating they have “observed how the culture of violence has gradually prevailed in our country, and the bombings in Jolo is a further evidence to the cycle of hate that is destroying the moral fabric of our country.”

Two years ago, CT reported on how Philippine forces faced historic opposition on Mindanao, where the Maute group—which stems from a movement called the Moro National Liberation Front—had targeted Christians in an island-wide campaign to kill and capture. Experts feared it was an indicator of efforts to establish a caliphate in the region.

The Moro National Liberation Front is said to benefit from the January 21 referendum to bring autonomy to a region of five majority-Muslim provinces in the Philippines; its name, Bangsamoro, essentially means Moro Nation. The area is expected to transition fully to its own government in 2022, replacing the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“Though the region of roughly 4.3 million people won’t keep its own army or restrict entry by other Filipinos, the government is expected to give it enough local control so that Muslims get a sense of the autonomy they have fought for since the 1960s,” explained Voice of America. “Proponents of the move hope the sense of self-rule might in turn stop fighting between armed rebels and government troops, battles that sometimes catch civilians in their net, and let the population develop economically.”

Opponents include Christians and those on the island of Jolo in particular, fearing further violence from Abu Sayyaf.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ne...bu-sayyaf.html

[beerptrol]

a terrorist attack on a church in the Philippines on 27 January 2019, left 20 people dead, and was reportedly carried out by ISIS. Didn't see you start a thread about it back in January because it didn't fit your agenda to try and minimize what happened in New Zealand

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mu...b-philippines/

[Smack dat]

On the morning of January 27, 2019, two bombs exploded at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu, in the Philippines. Twenty people were killed and 102 others injured.[3] The bombings took place a week after the autonomy plebiscite held on January 21 for the creation of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. It is believed that the attacks were carried out by the Abu Sayyaf, and the Islamic State claimed responsibility. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte responded by issuing an "all-out war" directive against the Abu Sayyaf. The bombings were widely condemned by neighboring and distant countries, local and foreign organizations all issuing condemnations and condolences to the victims of the cathedral attack.

[King Mark]

didn't hear about this one. R.i.p to the dead. Hope isis gets completely annihilated.

Signed, GFY's resident muzzie.

[Bladewire]

He's so desperate to post anti muslim propaganda that he's posting 3 month old news from an obscure part of the world.

[OneHungLo]

Originally Posted by Bladewire

He's so desperate to post anti muslim propaganda that he's posting 3 month old news from an obscure part of the world.

January 27th wasn't 3 months ago. It wasn't even 2 months ago. Nice try.

[OneHungLo]

Originally Posted by Bladewire

He's so desperate to post anti muslim propaganda that he's posting 3 month old news from an obscure part of the world.

We were talking about New Zealand which is pretty damn obscure, but that was OK because you thought a Trump supporter did that mosque shooting.

[Bladewire]

Originally Posted by OneHungLo

We were talking about New Zealand which is pretty damn obscure, but that was OK because you thought a Trump supporter did that mosque shooting.

You are boring.

You never evolve.

You go back in time to try and stay relevant to your dogma. You are desperate

[pimpmaster9000]

The media must have missed the 25.000 bombs/year the USA unloads on others like it always does...back to the desperate cherry pick news now...

[Bladewire]

Oooohz noze they're taking over! Mother's hide yo childrenzz!!?

[Paul Markham]

Islamic terrorist atrocities. https://www.google.com/search?ei=V-G...iz.hxCWndZ3irE

Right Wing terrorist atrocities. https://www.google.com/search?ei=ZeG...iz.xMsAOKgcH74

[pimpmaster9000]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Islamic terrorist atrocities. https://www.google.com/search?ei=V-G...iz.hxCWndZ3irE

Right Wing terrorist atrocities. https://www.google.com/search?ei=ZeG...iz.xMsAOKgcH74

nobody clicks on your links dumbass

[celandina]

Did not notice any Muslim women shedding their burkas/hijabs in solidarity with the women killed there, as Christian women wear hijabs in solidarity with the NZ women...strange..