VATICAN AT RISK OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION as Islamic State smuggles dirty bomb into Europe

A weapons maker for the Islamic State has posted a chilling warning to the world, claiming that a radioactive device, known as a "dirty bomb" has been successfully smuggled into Europe. This suggests that a radiological bombing could be imminent.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - European security forces will be on high alert now that a prominent bomb maker for the Islamic State has warned that a dirty bomb has been smuggled into Europe. While the claim has not yet been proven, it likely won't be, until it is too late.

If true, the terrorists could strike at a number of targets in Europe, and chief among their preferences could be Vatican City and Pope Francis, against whom they have previously made threats.

Let us pray for peace and for Pope Francis.

There are a number of reasons why the Islamic State wants to target the Vatican. Vatican City is the global seat of Roman Catholicism, and the Church against which they have already fought. The vast majority of Christians displaced by the Islamic State have been Catholics belonging to rites of the Church across Syria and Iraq. There is also a historical animosity since the Catholic Church led the crusades a millennium ago.

Pope Francis has also called for peace, even going to far as to say he would be willing to negotiate with the Islamic State it if meant a cessation of hostilities. However, the Islamic State has pledged that there will be no negotiations and no peace. Instead, they are bent on conquest, converting the world to fundamentalist Sunni Islam, by the sword if necessary. Attacking the Pope would be a very dramatic repudiation of any peaceful overtures.

It would be easy to get a device into, or at least near Vatican City. Although there are substantial security forces, a determined terror cell could literally force their way into St. Peter's Square and detonate a bomb, or more likely, detonate a device on the streets around the Vatican. The blast would be close enough. A dirty bomb is designed to scatter radioactive material across a wide area and the Vatican could be rendered uninhabitable by a device exploding nearby.

The Islamic State has already published an image of St. Peter's Square in its online publication, demonstrating their willingness to strike the holy target.

The Islamic State also has a history of attacking religious sites. Last summer, they infamously destroyed the tomb of Jonah and the mosque surrounding it. They see any symbols of religion as idolatry and it is easy to understand how Catholicism, rich with symbolism, would be viewed with contempt.

The threat itself is basic and vague, but worthy of taking seriously because the Islamic State does not have a reputation for bluffing.

The tweet reads: BREAKING NEWS# WARNING A Radioactive Device has entered somewhere in Europe.

It was posted by "Muslim-Al-Britani (@TNTMuslim)" a known bomb maker for the Islamic State.

On Nov. 23, it was Al-Britani who revealed that the Islamic State secured nearly 100 pounds of radioactive material from a university in Mosul. While the material cannot be used to make an actual nuclear bomb, it can be used to make a "dirty bomb" which simple showers a small area with radioactive debris. Such a device could render a busy portion of a city uninhabitable for months or even years while a very expensive cleanup ensued.

United Nations officials as well as at least one professor from the University of Mosul have both affirmed that it is very likely the Islamic State has the radioactive material they need.

The consequences of a dirty bomb attack on the Vatican, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, would be far ranging, well beyond the impact of any immediate damages and deaths. The world would almost certainly unite against the Islamic State and crush it, launching a full-scale ground war against the terrorists which they would not survive. There would be an international outcry against Islam, and militant Islam in particular.

The wars that were fought against Communism in the 20th century would be repeated as wars against militant Islam in the 21st. Even if the Islamic State fell quickly, the widespread prevalence of militant Islam means we could see a century or more of sustained, religious conflict.

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