TERROR IN ISTANBUL - ISIS terrorists shoot churchgoers at Santa Maria church during Mass.

A terrible crime took place in Istanbul yesterday. Two masked, heavily armed madmen invaded the beautiful Santa Maria Church and started shooting around. At least one churchgoer was killed. This was a Turk who was very interested in Christianity (so possibly he was becoming a Catholic; when Turkish Muslims become Catholic but have no experience living as Christians, that process can take up to three years). So he had not been baptized, nor had he received his confirmation. Still, of course, he is a true Christian martyr.

On images posted on the Internet you can see what happened. It is the footage from the church's surveillance cameras. What you see is horrifying (though fortunately not very gory, so you won't suffer any PTSD or anything, which is why we do just post them here and not just link).

When it became known that a shooting had occurred, there were two possible scenarios: a personal reckoning or an act of terror. It remained silent and unclear for a while but then it became known that ISIS had claimed the attack. The Turkish government immediately became very active, sprang into action, and even picked up two suspects already. That's nice... but also richly late. After all, this extremist scum should never have been allowed to roam freely in Turkey.

Bishop: "We are very concerned"

The bishop in Istanbul yesterday immediately reacted to this brutal attack. "During the celebration of Holy Mass, one of our believers was shot dead. This happened during the 'consecration' [Red: or "consecration." This is the moment when, according to Catholic teaching, the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This is a central and sacred part of the Eucharist within the Catholic Church. Indeed, it is the most important moment in the Holy Mass]."

At the time the bishop gave the interview, it was not yet clear exactly why the attack had taken place. So he said. But, he added, "we are concerned about the future because if this is a sign of religious intolerance, that's a very bad sign for our community."

The Turkish Christian (he is called "our believer" by the bishop, so I assume he was in the process of training to become a Catholic) who was killed was 52 years old. His whole name is not known, his initials are: C.T.

Turkey's immigration problem

A few hours after the attack, Turkish authorities announced that two ISIS extremists had been arrested. They were believed to be the attackers. One of the terrorists is from Tajikistan, the other from Russia. But in other words, they are both extremist Muslims.

And that's not all. Authorities raided as many as 30 locations and 47 (!) people were arrested.

"We will never tolerate those who try to disturb the peace of our country - terrorists, their collaborators, both national and international criminal groups, and those who put our unity and solidarity at risk," said Turkish Interior Minister Yerlikaya.

This is all very nice and important. But Turkey has an immense problem. Indeed, in recent years large numbers of "immigrants" have come to Turkey, often from Syria. Those Russian and Tajik are from ISIS. Chances are they were first in Syria and then moved to Turkey when their terror group lost their idiotic "caliphate" there.

(Article continues below this call) At DDS we are CLOSED with Islamic radicalism and terror attacks against innocent Christians. We stand firm for our culture, our traditions, AND for peace. So we don't mince words about terror. Do you support us in this? Donate to DDS via BackMe and help us tell the truth every day!

It is very good that the authorities have now intervened harshly. But they have known for much longer that there are numerous extremists roaming Istanbul and other major cities. How else do you think they can raid 30 locations and arrest nearly 50 people in a short period of time? They know who they are talking about and they even know where these extremists are.

Turkish authorities have a duty to protect Catholic churches (and other churches!). Those radical Muslim terrorists running around in Turkey must all be eliminated. Put them out of the country back to Syria or detain them. It cannot be that the authorities let these scum walk around freely and then after yet another attack they shout that they are very sorry.... but meanwhile do nothing to eliminate this kind of threat in advance in the meantime.