On this day in 1976, members of the fascist Warriors of Christ the King killed two members of the Carlist party in what became known as the Montejurra massacre.
MONTEJURRA, SPAIN – For the record I am a Christian, Catholic more specifically but I am not a very good one I fear. Oh I used to go to church and I did attend Catholic schools but I am not what one would call a ‘practicing’ Catholic. There are many reasons for this but I will not bore you with the details.
Nevertheless my lapses I still think I have a good idea of what Catholicism and Christianity stand for. This is a faith that eschews violence, advises its followers to ‘turn the other cheek’ and condemns the murder of innocent people. There is also a ‘just war’ theory dating back to Saint Augustine but we not go down that path.
Alas Christianity has been invoked for all kinds of acts of violence throughout its 2,000-year history. In this it is exactly like all religions. If I may, I will point you in the direction of my latest book When Religions Kill to see just how gods are used to justify killing someone else.
It really is amazing how many violent acts are committed in the name of ‘peaceful’ religions.
Not only do ‘believers’ cite religion as a rationale for killing but some terrorist groups insert religious symbols into their names. Islamist extremist groups are particularly egregious in this regard. Everyone is ‘soldier of Allah’ this and ‘Army of Allah’ that. Pretty unimaginative actually.
Islamist terrorist groups are not alone in this.
1976 Montejurra massacre
On this day in 1976 members of the Warriors of Christ the King, New Force (Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey, Nueva Fuerza) killed two ‘Carlists’ – a counter-revolutionary monarchist movement that wanted to install its own branch of the Bourbon dynasty as Spain’s king – and wounded three in Montejurra in the northern Spanish province of Navarre. Ricardo García Pellejero and Aniano Jiménez Santo were murdered by the far-right/fascist gunmen. The attack took place less than a year after Franco’s death.
I don’t know about you but ‘warriors of Christ the King’ does not sound very Christian to me. Just one more instance of Jesus killing someone I guess. Or maybe… Jesus wept.
When Religion Kills: How Extremists Justify Violence Through Faith (2019)
When Religion Kills: How Extremists Justify Violence Through Faith (2019)
Christian fundamentalists. Hindu nationalists. Islamic jihadists. Buddhist militants. Jewish extremists. Members of these and other religious groups have committed horrific acts of terrorist violence in recent decades. Phil Gurski explores violent extremism across a broad range of the world’s major religions.
