Rejoice: Justice is Done
Osama bin Laden was arguably the man who most symbolized hatred for the United States in the world today.In 1998, Osama signed on to a fatwa ordering Muslims everywhere to kill Americans and their allies: “The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip.”1
In 2001, he masterminded the attacks of 9/11, which killed 2,977 people, mostly Americans. Now, in an act of justice his body lies at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. He was killed on May 1 by a heroic team of our tremendous Navy Seals. May God be praised!
A cruel and cowardly enemy of the Christian West is dead. Rejoice! Yes, rejoice! We do well to rejoice over bin Laden’s death.
We do not rejoice at the demise of any personal enemy. Rather, we rejoice over what the great Saint Bernard defined as a “malecide,” the just execution of a malefactor.2 Indeed, Osama bin Laden was the common enemy of the Christian West. He killed innocent people and wished to destroy America, and, with our nation, the remnants of the Christian order in the world.
A Call to Vigilance
As we rejoice at the death of this great common enemy of the Christian West, we prepare in prayer, vigilance and ever greater resolve to face the difficult moments and crises that will surely come ahead. If we are faithful to Christian principles in our war against Islamist terror and Osama bin Ladens of every stripe, we can certainly expect God’s blessings on America.
May the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of America, favor and help us carry out these difficult responsibilities.
1. Osama bin Laden was the first of five to sign the 1998 fatwa. See the English translation at http://fas.org/irp/world/para/...
2. Saint Bernard de Clairvaux, De laude novae militiae, in Migne, Patrologia Latina, Vol. 182, col. 924.