The facts are the facts

I was on a plane flying from London to Toronto when the Boston Marathon slaughter took place. Security at airports always takes quite a long time because of the number of terrorist attacks, almost all of them in the name of Islam, that have been made on air travellers. A few days later I sat at my desk at the television station where I host a show and read of two Muslim fundamentalists arrested for allegedly plotting to murder innocent people on Canadian trains.

The Catholic response to all of this, to the terror committed in the name of the Muslim faith, is challenging and complex; then again, the Catholic response to all of the great issues of the day is challenging and complex. On the one hand, we are called as followers of Christ to be compassionate, empathetic and forgiving. Yet at the same time, as God’s creatures given the capacity to think and the command to proclaim justice and defend the weak, we have to be resolute and strong...