Nine years ago tonight, I moderated an event with Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori in Krakow. Pope Francis would soon be in Poland, and our conversation in a bar in the main square was part of a somewhat massive English-language warm-up act (culminating in taking over the 22,000-capacity Tauron arena), organized by the Knights of Columbus.

I bring this up because it wasn’t until after the event that I noticed all the military officers guarding the event. They were apparently upstairs, downstairs, outside, and plain-clothes within our eyesight as we talked on the stage-like platform. I assume the Knights would have always made sure to have some security, but the reason for the extraordinary presence was Father Jacques Hamel.

In France that morning, nine years ago now, the 85-year-old Catholic priest’s throat was slashed while celebrating a weekday Mass at his Normandy parish. ISIS took credit, and eventually four men went to jail on terrorism charges.

It was so clear why he was killed even

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