Tout est Pardonne

Tout est Pardonne

The response of the editors of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to the slaughter of a dozen members of their staff by two Moslem terrorists was to run a front page cover cartoon featuring a weeping Mohammed with a headline saying "Tout est Pardonne". I believe this means all is forgiven.

I suppose it was natural for the editors to try and take the high road and appear magnanimous but their comment is inane and totally inappropriate. How do you forgive someone who has not asked for forgiveness, who has never expressed any sorrow or shown any signs of repentance? How do you forgive someone or some group who rather than show any remorse for their terrible deed, actually glories in their deed and is planning other atrocities?

I know that forgiveness is a necessity for Christians but even a priest in the confessional cannot grant forgiveness unless penitents recognize that they have sinned, express sorrow for their wrongs, and show a willingness to avoid such behavior in the future. It used to be said that the penitent had to have a firm purpose of amendment.

The thousands and thousands of Christians who are being brutally persecuted by Moslem fanatics all over the Middle East have no obligation to forgive their remorseless killers who see nothing wrong with their actions, and are only intensifying their efforts.

I do not think that the editors of Charlie Hebdo are Christian but their politically correct gesture of forgiveness for unrepentant Moslem terrorists everywhere shows the shallowness of modern sensibilities. their words sound good on the surface but have no real substance or meaning. It would have been better if they had just depicted a weeping Mohammed on their cover.

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