Photo: Archbishop Dolan prays at Ground Zero

Source: New York Daily News.

I found this image very powerful. Let's stop and say a prayer for the victims of 9-11 and of all terrorism.

... and after that, how about a serious open thread discussion about Archbishop Timothy Dolan as papabili?

Large scale terrorist attack unfolding in India

Breaking news .... the UK Times:

At least 80 people were killed tonight and 20 Westerners taken hostage as suspected Islamic terrorists mounted a series of co-ordinated attacks on India’s financial capital.

The gunman, armed with automatic weapons and grenades, targeted British and American tourists in the city’s luxury hotels and bars. They were reported to be holding Western tourists hostage at the Taj Mahal Palace, Bombay’s top hotel, where a group of British MEPs were staying.

As a swathe of violent incidents swept across the south of the city, hitting at least nine locations, security sources said “a major terror attack” was unfolding. A senior police officer said that “terrorists have used automatic weapons and we have reports that in some places hand grenades have been used”.

“We have reports of 80 people dead and at least 900 injured. Many have serious injuries and the toll will go up,” said P.D Ghadge, a police officer in the main control room in Mumbai. Hemant Karkare, chief of the police anti-terrorist squad in Bombay, was among the victims. Police said two terrorists had been killed.

Shootings were reported in the lobby of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the Colaba area of south Bombay and at the nearby Leopolds bar, a popular destination with western backpackers. Witnesses described pools of blood and bullet-scarred walls at both locations.

“I guess they were after foreigners, because they were asking for British or American passports,” said Rakesh Patel, a British witness who lives in Hong Kong and was staying at the Taj Mahal hotel on business. “They had bombs.”

Drudge is following the story.

Let's pray for the victims and be thankful for the relative peace we are blessed with in America.

update: and lest we let our own guard down, there are now reports of a plan to bomb penn station.

update 2: Pope Benedict has responded.

Alert: Presumed Islamic Extremists Hack Knights of Holy Sepulchre website

Will Cubbedge sent the alert:

As of right now (3:42pm on Palm Sunday) it would appear that someone has hacked and uploaded insulting images onto the American website of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

As of 8:30pm EST, the website is still comprimised. Here is an image of what the homepage looks like:

I would recommend to not visit the website until control of it has been restored. Hackers can also upload viruses and trojans onto compromised web pages, and they might upload offensive images.

More from Will:

The pictures of the Jerusalem cross have been replaced by the face of some Muslim cleric (the Ayatollah?), and the pictures of the Cardinal Grand Master replaced by those of a donkey.

Get that? They replaced the Cardinal Grand Master's image with a picture of a donkey.

As for the phrase "al sana kardinal", I do not speak Arabic, but I was able to find that "sana" means "illustrious splendor". It would be helpful if someone could help us with an accurate translation.

Finally, it goes without saying that this is an offensive act of internet terrorism, and that because such acts are becoming more and more frequent, it is important that the culprits be brought to swift justice.

The Knights of the Holy Sepulchre should not only notify their ISP, they should notify the U.S. government.

To remind us that we remain threatened

You've probably heard, but in case you haven't:

FORT DIX, N.J. - Six foreign-born Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack Fort Dix and slaughter scores of U.S. soldiers — a scheme the
FBI says was foiled when the men asked a store clerk to copy a video of them firing assault weapons and screaming about jihad.

The defendants, all men in their 20s from the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East, include a pizza deliveryman suspected of using his job to scout out the military base.

Their goal was "to kill as many American soldiers as possible" with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and guns, prosecutors said. [More from the AP.]