by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
On July 28, 1480, an Ottoman fleet arrived at Otranto and after a 15-day siege, fell to the Muslims. A total of 12,000 were killed and 5,000 enslaved. 800 men were told to convert to Islam or be slain. After refusing to convert, they all were led to the Hill of Minerva to be beheaded one-by-one. The Martyrs of Otranto remains are displayed in the three glass reliquaries in the Otranto Cathedral and in the church of Santa Caterina a Formiello in Naples.
What is unconditionality when it comes to a Crusade?
It consists in having clearly in mind that the Crusade had a supreme end because it aimed at the liberation of all those [Catholics] languishing under the domination of Mohammedan infidels, disturbed in their practice of the true Faith, marrying Muslims and being perverted to a false faith, forbidden to have a Catholic formation and the Catholic spirit. Catholic worship was reduced to such shameful conditions that one does not even know what to say. Above all, the Crusade was aimed at liberating the Holy Sepulcher of Our Lord Jesus Christ occupied by Mohammedans.
So, putting an end to the infidel’s domination, breaking it apart and crushing it to bits was a supreme goal of kings and peoples of that time. If this is so, and it is a supreme goal, then one needs to take this to its last consequences, sacrificing everything to fulfill this design. This is unconditionality.
Photo of a dungeon at Seringapatam in India by Kiran Jonnalagadda. Those Catholics who refused to embrace Islam were imprisoned in such dungeons. The imprisonment, torture and murders of 60,000 Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam began on February 24, 1784 and ended on May 4, 1799, with their liberation by the British. Tippu Sultan, the Muslim ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, had 21 priests arrested with orders of expulsion to Goa, fined Rs 200,000, and threatened death by hanging if they ever returned. All of the Churches were raised to the ground.
One must overcome whatever difficulty, by any means, and make the Crusade triumph. Therefore, sacrificing advantages and privileges inherent to self-love is absolutely fundamental for the Crusade to win.
Ground Zero Mosque Protest on August 22, 2010. Photo by David Shankbone.
This applies point by point to the struggle of the Counter-Revolution to crush the Revolution. It is a Crusade! A Crusade that has not been waged at the tip of a spear but is just as well-deserving as the Crusades of old, and even more so….
On October 2010 Muslim terrorists murdered 58 Iraqi Catholics while they were attending evening Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Baghdad. “Enough! Enough!” shouted this three-year old toddler as he chased one of the Islamic terrorists gunning down the faithful and in response, the Mujahidin turned his gun on the valiant boy and riddled him with bullets.
This is my law, my sword, and my cross! I will obey. I will obey in such a way that not only our Crusade will never lose ground but it will not lose even a minute on my account. I will go to the very end. And if I die before it reaches the end, I will die thinking of its victory.
Asia Bibi’s daughter, Eisham Asiq, with Ignacio Arsuaga, president of HazteOir.org at the Vatican. Aasiya Noreen, also known as Asia Bibi, is a Catholic would has been falsely imprisoned and charged with death by hanging. Photo by Olivier LPB.
Therefore, this unconditionality presupposes a very well established hierarchy of values and a great firmness to maintain it. That which is supreme deserves everything; and because of it we will sacrifice everything!
(Excerpt from an Almoço, Wednesday, Mar. 7, 1990 – Nobility.org translation)
