What's old is new again

While driving today and listening to talk radio I heard something too deliciously ironic to be true--something so powerful that if actually true would make the Pope look like an awfully clever fella and anyone who blogged it, well the same.

What was it? I heard a caller say the 14th century Byzantine Emperor quoted by the Pope, Manual II Palaiologos, was beheaded by the Muslims.

It sounded believable, but not being a serious student of European history a check of the internets was in order, and sure enough, it doesn't appear to be true. So much for talk radio being a source. The Turks did destroy his grave, but that somehow lacks the same drama.

Nevertheless, there seems to be some ironies between his time in history and ours. The Byzantine Empire was in it's last throes during Manny's reign, and he was doing anything he could to defend Constantinople, including a personal tour of western Europe to ellicit support:

Western Europe is becoming more aware of its Greek heritage and Manuel encounters much sympathy and expressions of goodwill - unfortunately these do not extend to much in the way of concrete assistance.

Perhaps they were war-weary due to their previous Crusades, which were a little tougher than orginally planned. Perhaps there was a John Kerry predecessor in France railing against war, who knows. Needless to say, Constantinople fell, as did much of southern Europe, and it wasn't pretty. The Ottomans were finally stopped at the Gates of Vienna and their defeat signaled an end to the great Muslim empires, something that bin Laden and others would like to reverse.

This is old news to many, but it's interesting to study the ebb and flow and compare it with today. Everyone seems to think the present age is the most enlightened; that with all our technological advancements and gizmos we could never allow history to repeat. Yet it appears to be happening before our very eyes. The age-old axiom "only the strong survive" is still very much in play, despite any of our intellectual protestations.

And yet, the last words of Sister Leonella, "forgive them", represent the hallmark of Christianity, the very core of the faith. She was only echoing the master who once said, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do".

I sometimes wonder, did He want us to follow that teaching in the face of barbaric ghouls ready to chop off the heads of our children, or sometimes put up a fight? It's a question I still occasionally grapple with, but one which usually gets rationalized back towards the latter persuasion. Forgive me, Lord.