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The world learned of the brutal, merciless assassination of American journalist James Foley as Catholic New York was going to press with our last issue. In the days following the Aug. 19 release of the horrific video by the Islamic State extremist group, which claimed responsibility for Foley’s killing, another story emerged that should give us all hope.
In the witness of the slain journalist’s life and work, particularly the comfort he received from his Catholic faith, we see that death does not have the last word, nor the final victory. Even in his darkest hours, when he was imprisoned and threatened with death, we are confident he drew strength from the Light of Christ.
The reason we say this is because the 1996 graduate of Jesuit-run Marquette University in Milwaukee had been in a similar situation just three years ago when he was kidnapped on a Libyan battlefield and held for 45 days in a military detention center in Tripoli.
In an article written for Marquette magazine, recently recounted in a Catholic News Service dispatch, Foley related how prayer, specifically the Rosary, brought him comfort during that detention.
“It was what my mother and grandmother would have prayed. I said 10 Hail Marys between each Our Father. It took a long time, almost an hour to count 100 Hail Marys off on my knuckles. And it helped to keep my mind focused,” Foley wrote.
He prayed the Rosary out loud, joined by a journalist colleague who was with him in captivity, and said he hoped their prayers would reach his mother “through some cosmic reach of the universe.”
His parents, Diane and John Foley, in a time of profound grief, gave witness to the personal and professional attributes of their 40-year-old son, who had been captured while working as a freelance journalist in Syria in late 2012.
“We thank God for the gift of Jim. We are so, so proud of him,” Diane Foley told reporters on the front lawn of their New Hampshire home Aug. 20. She added that he was “a courageous, fearless journalist—the best of America.”
John Foley told reporters: “We think his strength came from God,” and his wife interjected: “We know it did.” He said it is now up to others to “pick up the gauntlet” and continue the work his son was doing.
That journalistic enterprise can be a perilous one, especially in places across the globe—and there are many—that do not share the same values and respect for press freedom that America does. Such a career choice is certainly not for the fainthearted.
Foley knew full well the risks and challenges; instead of pulling back, he continually forged ahead into the unknown to tell stories that needed to be told. Covering the news, sometimes at great personal cost, is vital to uncovering injustices wherever they may occur.
United by our faith and calling, we consider Foley a brother and join his family and friends in mourning his loss. As we remember him here, we also pray for fellow American journalist Steven Sotloff. He was reported beheaded by the Islamic State as this issue went to press.
