A word of sincere thanks to our president, and our men and women in uniform, for taking the fight to Osama, and winning. To know that the head of the sworn enemy of the United States is finally dead is a relief. But the Vatican’s response is a sobering reminder for all of us:
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will have to answer to God for having killed many people and exploiting religion to spread hate, the Vatican said on Monday.Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that while Christians “do not rejoice” over a death, it serves to remind them of “each person’s responsibility before God and men.”“Osama bin Laden, as everyone knows, had the grave responsibility of having spread division and hate among people, causing the deaths of an innumerable number of people and exploiting religion for these purposes,” he said.The Vatican has often condemned the concept of violence in God’s name.Lombardi also said the Vatican hoped that the death of bin Laden “would not be an occasion for more hate, but for peace.”
In the words of Ezekiel 18:23 “Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?” Don’t get me wrong. Osama bin Laden declared war, in a barbaric way, on the United States, and last night, he officially lost. Without a doubt, he got what he deserved. It’s just sad that it had to end this way. In contrast, look at someone like Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of one of the founders of Hamas, who converted from Islam to Christianity. That’s the sort of thing which God rejoices over.