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High security at Lourdes to protect pilgrims from those whose religion Pope says is peaceful

Aug 15, 2017 12:29 pm By Robert Spencer

Pope Francis has declared: “Authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.”

So why the high security at Lourdes? Send those extra police officers home. Ground that aerial team. End those traffic controls. Retract those bollards permanently. It’s a religion of peace! What are Lourdes authorities so nervous about?

“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)

“High security in Lourdes ahead of annual pilgrimage,” The Local, August 14, 2017:

Worshippers can expect bag searches, traffic controls, and increased numbers of police officers on duty in the run-up to the Feast of the Assumption on August 15th, a key date in the Catholic calendar.

Lourdes is one of the world’s most important sites for religious tourism, with the shrine marking the spot where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in a grotto to Bernadette Soubirous, a poor shepherd girl, in 1858….

Authorities stressed they had no knowledge of a particular threat to the site or the festival, but Béatrice Lagarde, the prefect of the Hautes-Pyrénees département, told local media that “there is no reason to downgrade the security system put in place last year”.

“We are taking into account that the national threat remains at a high level,” said Lagarde at a press conference outlining the measures.

Police presence has been reinforced, with an additional 300 police officers and soldiers deployed. That includes a team of 30 within the sanctuary itself, police dogs, and explosives specialists.

A further aerial team will also monitor the situation at the site from a police plane, as well as ensuring that bans on drones in the area were adhered to. A network of 30 cameras in the religious site and the city will allow further monitoring in real time.

The municipality has worked on traffic controls, aimed both at reducing congestion and crowding and guarding against possible attacks using a vehicle, such as the horrific truck attack on the Nice promenade in July 2016. The site will be pedestrianized thanks to a system of retractable bollards.

Just three of the 12 entrances to the sanctuary will be accessible, with anyone entering the site subject to bag searches. Additionally, authorities have banned processions outside the site from between midnight and 6am….

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Filed Under: Catholic Church, Featured, France Tagged With: Lourdes


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Comments

  1. Alarmed Pig Farmer says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 12:46 pm

    Authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.
    — Pope Frank

    How can he say such a thing, doesn’t factual reality count even little anymore? Now, the fictive reality thing is running amok all over, but with the Moslems we gotta be serious.

    • Santa Voorhees says

      Aug 15, 2017 at 1:07 pm

      Pope Francis is opposed to every form of intelligence.

      What else can it be? Remember, he said that our biggest security against jihadist is to welcome muslim immigrants. Poland largely proven him (along with the muslim mayor of London) wrong.

      He is beyond dementia. Period.

      • WPM says

        Aug 15, 2017 at 1:49 pm

        Pope Francis the first communist Pope ,Pope John the Second must be spinning in his grave. Those Western World communist and progressives get all misty eyed when the Islamics go on their Friday rant on the evils of western culture.

        • mortimer says

          Aug 15, 2017 at 3:40 pm

          WPM raises a good point: What would John Paul II have thought about his communist successor?

          Frances is practically clueless about Islam. Can no one at the Vatican or in the Jesuit order get through to him?

    • Westman says

      Aug 15, 2017 at 2:14 pm

      I could be wrong, but I see it as just another sign of the decline of Western religion since WWII; the more conservative churches declining at a slower pace.

      Pope Francis appears to have veered far to the left of past Popes. Certainly he doesn’t think leftists actually respect religion and that dancing to their tune will bring them to church?

      • Carolyne says

        Aug 16, 2017 at 9:00 am

        And that is why Benedict is no longer Pope–but he did escape with his life. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been seen recently.

        • WPM says

          Aug 16, 2017 at 9:10 am

          Pope Benedict step down for heath reasons he is going blind. He might be total blind by now he could not trust all the people around him to do his work if he could not see.

    • Guy Foreste says

      Aug 15, 2017 at 2:21 pm

      I assume this means that Pope Francis is not only fluent in classical Arabic from the relevant time period, but he has access to the oldest authenticated transcripts of the Quran (the prophet PBOH-[peanut butter on him]-was illiterate) and the Hadith. I assume he has fully studied the various forms of Islamic “jurisprudence” (Hanafi, et al) as well in the Arabic of the relevant time period.

      What is next, a thorough discussion regarding the Protestant Reformation and an analysis of the Book of Mormon (and related texts) based upon a new translation from the original language and the original tablets? Wow, I am really impressed.

      Poor John Paul only had to put up with hiding Jews and being part of the resistance to the Nazi’s.

      • Alvaro Kreisler Carvalhaes says

        Aug 16, 2017 at 7:32 pm

        Nothing to add or take about your texto. Just wanna Tell you I am still laughing ar your interp. of PBOH. Dude, I almost busted a gut.

    • gravenimage says

      Aug 15, 2017 at 3:11 pm

      “Proper reading”–as in, studiously ignoring all its actual content.

      • Minutes1234 says

        Aug 16, 2017 at 11:25 am

        He probably thinks Mien Kamp is also just, true and fair.

  2. Henry Viger says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    What is the proper reading of the Koran? Is it when one reads a redacted version in order to spread a taquiya version?

    • rabrooks says

      Aug 22, 2017 at 2:17 am

      In their countries, 80% of them cannot read or write their own language, let alone arabic. When I ask anything of a muzzy I get either “I get angry talking about my religion” or “is that in the koran?” Mostly they really don’t know. Most american muzzies are too lazy to read. They prefer to be told what to …….

  3. John A. Marre says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    If the Muslims are such peaceful people, then the pope should hire them as security at the Vatican to protect his Marxist hide.

  4. gravenimage says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    High security at Lourdes to protect pilgrims from those whose religion Pope says is peaceful
    …………………………

    Muslims *love* to blow up non-Muslim shrines.

    Why are these barbarians in Europe?

    • Minutes1234 says

      Aug 17, 2017 at 2:36 am

      Because we were told that they are peaceful and tolerant terrorists who are subject to islamophobia, xenophobia, poverty, puberty etc.?

  5. Michael Copeland says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    Bit by bit the Islamic jihad ratchet clicks ever further on.

    Bag searches, prohibition of processions at certain hours, increased police presence, armed soldiers, helicopter coverage, all this is the New Normal.

    Young children will grow up not knowing any different.

    The leaders remain in denial.

  6. Lynn says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 6:45 pm

    After the 9/11 attacks, I took a college extension class on Islam and then read a large part of the Koran and parts of the hadith and sira. I came away with a view of Islam the opposite of Pope Francis’s view. Islam is a supremacist ideology and is part religion and part a system of government. It is not peaceful towards non-Muslims.

    • Carolyne says

      Aug 16, 2017 at 9:03 am

      Perhaps you need to go back and read it properly, whatever that means. Most of us know what it says and most of us know that it means kill all non-Muslims. That is the only “Proper” reading.

  7. 308dawg says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 6:51 pm

    How can the Pope possibly be wrong about Islam…after all, he is God’s representative here on earth, or so Catholicism would have us all believe

    • Carolyne says

      Aug 16, 2017 at 9:06 am

      I am an Atheist, so I can’t possibly believe that the Pope is God’s representative on earth; It’s a 2,000 year old Ponzi scheme.. But if I did believe in the supernatural, I say it’s more likely that this Pope is the Devil’s representative. Either he is as dumb as a brick or he is a Muslim.

      • Santa Voorhees says

        Aug 16, 2017 at 10:25 am

        Carolyne, really, do not insult bricks, they are much smarter than him and almost all his leftopath company, trust me….

        Hey, at least bricks would listen to our concerns with terrorists infiltrating Europe without them labeling you as racist and islamophobe… too bad that, you know, being bricks, they can’t do anything about it.

        There’s nothing dumber than leftists. Even 7th century Mohammedans are much smarter than them.

    • Minutes1234 says

      Aug 17, 2017 at 2:39 am

      I am a Christian RC but no longer attend church because of this idiocy.

  8. Mockingjay says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 7:05 pm

    Pope Francis,

    – If there truly is nothing wrong whatsoever with islam, while at the same time the people who are followers of this “most peaceful religion in the world”, behave so often with aggression and violence, and the cause for that can NOT be their religion, then there HAS to be something wrong with the people who follow it.

    It really is that simple.

    In fact, there has to be something EXTREMELY wrong with them if their religion dictates peaceful behaviour and their actual behaviour is so VERY often so VERY violent. It is such a HUGE discrepancy that it can only be explained if there is something in their very nature that makes them behave so violent.

    (- And no, claiming that they are “so oppressed” that they “can’t help” but turn violent isn’t a satisfactory explanation, as very peaceful people would not or rarely get violent even if oppressed.)

    So – which is it going to be, Pope Francis?

    Do you really believe that it is within the followers of islam that the real problem lies?
    – Although not necessarily racist, many would consider this assumption as such.

    Is that the way you look upon this?

    – It has to be one or the other: either way there is something inherently violent within the followers of islam, or there is something inherently violent within their religion.

    As you are so sure it isn’t the religion that has any sort of shortcomings, that leaves only the other option.

    And do you then really believe that people who have such a natural inclination to violence should be received with open arms into Europe?

    Is that what you truly want ?

  9. overman says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    Bernadette must be doing somersaults in her grave. lt’s a total disgrace. l’m not catholic but l’ve always liked this saint.

    Recently [it seems true] a former civil servant in the Argentine military junta has come out and exposed Pope Francis as a ‘Prime Mover’ in child trafficking during the ‘Dirty War’ of the 1970’s.
    Apparently, the Argentina-born Pope Francis engineered the kidnapping and trafficking of children of political prisoners.

    Nothing would surprise me about the catholic church anymore..

    • Lydia says

      Aug 15, 2017 at 8:18 pm

      Yes, I have seen evidence of this on the internet by other witnesses, including children who testified against him. There was even a trial over it, I think in the world court or something, you can google it and maybe it will still be there.

      There is child trafficking and even sacrifice and other evil rituals and deeds going on by all the powerful elite. It’s sort of a demonic ritual to stay in power. (See 1 John 5; 19, Matthew 4 and Luke 4, the devil has temporary ownership and puts his guys in place, the antichrist is the prime example, who is in fact this very offender mentioned above… long story on how I know.)

      Don’t trust the catholic church. It is a power hierarchy for self survival. Salvation is not through the catholic church. Salvation is through Jesus Christ. Read the Bible and turn to Christ alone for salvation. You will see many parallels between the pharisees and catholics in the Bible, false religion at work and called out as false by Jesus Himself! That is also how all cults work.

      • Lydia says

        Aug 15, 2017 at 8:24 pm

        Cults, meaning they want you to think you need to be a member of THEIR organization to be saved. The only way to be saved is to be IN CHRIST.

        So yes, pizzagate is true and all of that stuff. More cover up in the media of course, calling real news fake and fake news real. Their fake newsreel is real fake news.

  10. Patricia Halligan says

    Aug 15, 2017 at 10:53 pm

    Since views on Islam is not part of the Catholic faith Pope Francis is not speaking ”ex cathedra’ or from the ”chair of Peter” when he talks about Islam .

    Therefore all you narrow minded bigots who want to spout about Catholicism which you know absolutely nothing about I would like to inform you that a Pope is only infallible when he speaks from” the chair of Peter” or ”ex cathedra” when he is talking about the CHRISTIAN FAITH. However, as far as I am concerned he is dangerously naive and unwise when he speaks about Islam and the Koran.As a man he CAN make mistakes.His intentions may be good but that on its own is not enough. Islam is a heresy like agnosticism and the rest. ST..Pope John Paul 2 would have known that AND the militant the history of Islam. Also having lived under NAZISM and COMMUNISM he would have called a spade a spade about the evil done IN THE NAME OF ISLAM by MILITANT ISLAMISTS LIKE ISIS.He wasn’t afraid of the Nazis or the Communists and he wouldn’t have been afraid of the Islamists but unfortunately he died before this new FASCIST threat really began.HE was the kind of leader the Church needs in this day and age

    • Robert Spencer says

      Aug 16, 2017 at 12:00 pm

      https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/08/is-there-room-in-the-catholic-church-for-those-who-dont-believe-islam-is-a-religion-of-peace

  11. FYI says

    Aug 16, 2017 at 6:41 am

    One of the reasons for the decline of Christianity is the moral cowardice of the likes of francis and the ever-disgraceful Vatican.

    Whether you believe it or not,it has been known for quite a long time amongst Catholics that the “smoke of satan”(the words of Pope Paul VI)had entered the RCC:he was referring to freemasonic powers at work in the RCC that would eventually control the RCC administration.

    At Fatima in 1917 it was allegedly predicted that betrayal and apostasy would come from…Rome itself.There is another Catholic prophecy(whether you wish to believe it or not,but Catholics do) that “Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the antichrist”{la salette}.

    It is the complete failure of francis and his cronies in the Vatican to represent Christianity and Catholicism that has allowed islam to invade the west.

    Betrayal and apoststay……which we can clearly see is happening under francis.

    Some believe the heretical francis,the betrayer of Catholics and Christians, to be the one referred to by St Francis of Assisi but in any case he is a false shepherd.

    There is a further belief that just as Jesus Christ had a prophet to herald His coming{St John the Baptist},the antichrist(more correctly termed the False Christ as he will emulate Christ}….of II Thessalonians II will have a false prophet to prepare the way for him.

    Maybe someone like francis,the friend of islam ..

    If you have “eyes to see and ears to hear”,you may even note that francis{the Man Always Dressed in White so you might think him an innocent sweet angel}may appear as a lamb …but yet….. he speaks like a dragon..

    And one should keep a close eye on what comes out of Rome these days and what Mr Bergoglio says…and also what is happening in Israel…these are certain to be significant for the world.

  12. James Stamulis says

    Aug 16, 2017 at 7:22 am

    As i have said since he became pope this pope is full of POOP!

  13. Carolyne says

    Aug 16, 2017 at 9:19 am

    FYI, I know you truly believe that stuff, but to me, the Pope is as real as what you are saying.

    I don’t get these Catholic shrines. They always involve young children, usually girls who come upon a source of running water in a “Grotto” and suddenly a vision dressed in blue appears and they immediately recognize her as the Mother of Christ. They go and spread the word and suddenly this “Grotto” thingy becomes a great source of income to the Catholic Church. Lourdes is an enormous money-making set-up.
    So is that place in the former Yugoslavia where “The sun stood still.” If that had happened, we would all have fallen off the earth into the great beyond.

    Religions were invented by men to keep the populace in line by explaining the earth was created by supernatural means because they had no knowledge of the universe. Also, since all religions are misogynistic, the were also invented to subdue women. and keep them “In their place.”

    Popes are the “Head magicians.”

    • blitz2b says

      Aug 17, 2017 at 9:59 am

      Carolyn says “….Religions were invented by men to keep the populace in line by explaining the earth was created by supernatural means because they had no knowledge of the universe…”

      What knowledge do atheistic scientist have of the universe pray tell me? They are still trying to figure out the singularity event… Why there is something rather than nothing, so how can you be so arrogant about a fact that science is still grappling with? You think the M- theory and the string theory make any sense? These are merely theories of conjectures rather that factual.
      You would require more faith to be an atheist than a belief in a supreme being, so get of off your high horse, Darwin’s evolution is on the decline.

  14. rabrooks says

    Aug 22, 2017 at 1:52 am

    ‘Dhimmitude’ mudslimes protecting subjugated Christians, who are living in a mudslime land. Protecting Christians from who? Muzzies of course!

    • Elizabeth Lawson says

      Aug 22, 2017 at 11:38 am

      I speak as a conservative Catholic, born and bred in Ireland, and as a person who has traveled widely, including having resided in a Muslim country for almost twenty years. My assessment of the proclamations of Pope Francis regarding how, why,when and where to accommodate Muslim immigrants into Western countries is that his reasoning is faulty. No sane person, having lived on this planet for the past ten years would agree with what he has stated. We are not suicidal, and he should not ask us to be. Yes, we believe that Christ advocated assistance, love, empathy etc., for the needy, but among these needy are some very nasty creatures who want to dominate, subjugate, humiliate, rape and murder. So, sorry Pope .Francis, I will NOT be following your advice. When I resided in Muslimland, my church ( one of them) was made into a barn. Our clergy were not permitted to be seen in their clerical clothing on the street or elsewhere. Our wonderful nursing nuns were transported to and from hospitals where they worked, in vans with opaque windows. They received no thanks or gratitude for the long hours they worked to alleviate/ cure the ills of .Arab .Muslim women. Entering the country with a Christian bible could ( and in one case, did) earn up to ten years in prison. My church ( a small villa, which we shared with another .Christian church) was taken by the army – our priest was not given time to remove sacrificial chalices, his garments etc. In short, there was NO accommodation given to any faith group, other than Muslim. There were no steps taken, ever, to assist we foreigners. There was only the omnipresence of the state, and its clear culture of intimidation against we newcomers. No immigration policy, no welfare, no protection, no special accommodation for those in need, and certainly, NO open borders. So, Pope Francis, as one writer has already suggested, if you care so much for these folks, invite them to live in Vatican City. Is it possible to impeach a Pope? How I wish.

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