The death of 16 nuns and the allure of terrorism

A group of armed fighters surround the convent, demanding the nuns leave the premises and renounce their faith. When the sisters refuse, they are publicly beheaded, saying prayers and singing hymns with their last breaths. Although it sounds like the latest atrocity from the Islamic State group, it’s actually a scene playing out nightly here in “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” a 1957 opera by Francis Poulenc now featured at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The opera is based on the martyrdom of 16 members of the Carmel of Compiegne convent killed in 1794, during the French Revolution. The stirring and brutal portrayal contrasts with the romanticized revolution of “Les Miserables,” and reminds us that as many as 40,000 French citizens were killed — many beheaded — in just one year during the Reign of Terror. A disproportionate number were priests and nuns, killed by their fellow citizens in what was officially a Christian nation. Read complete article at -- http://www.religionnews.com/2015/02/27/death-16-nuns-allure-terrorism-commentary/

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