Cover Up?

Do you recall those seven monks who were brutally murdered in Algiers back in 1996? Now there is a story circulating throughout multiple news outlets that the official report of the murders was fabricated to conceal the true perpetrators of the crime. The official investigation blames Muslim militants for the murders of the Trappist monks, but now a former military attaché to France’s embassy in Algiers claims that the monks were accidentally killed by the Algerian army, and that both France and Algiers have conspired to cover up the incident for the sake of maintaining good diplomatic relations with each other. The new allegations - which were made by General François Buchwalter - claim that an Algerian army helicopter opened fire on what they mistakenly thought was a campground for Muslim extremists and struck the seven monks instead.

Regardless of who is at fault, the end result is the same: seven peaceful souls dead prematurely and unjustifiably. I'm hoping France and Algiers can come clean about the entire situation, and hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions.

I've never been able to completely shake from memory the senseless deaths of these Trappist monks. I have such an unswerving affection for them.

In Honor of St. Francis