so sad...

Two people brought a little light into the world by taking care of the needs of others.

So much evil in this world.

Given the very likely far-right political motive in this case.

God rest their souls.

I lived in Mississippi for about 10 years, and I can tell you that while most Mississippians would never dream of taking out their political disagreements violently (and most of them are passionately political, all appearances to the contrary), there is that extremist 5%-10% who would.

And Catholic nuns have two strikes against them as far as Southern RW extremists are concerned: one, they represent a faith many of them don't even consider "Christian" (I kid you not); and two, they're often seen as "socialist agitators" because of their concern for social justice and the poor in particular - especially the colored poor.

This latter sentiment has intensified quite a bit since Pope Francis took office, courtesy of the good people at Faux News.

So, while we don't yet know what happened to these Sisters, we certainly can't rule out a politically-motivated hit. Least of all in this emotionally charged election year.

Nice little bash job on some nuns that were murdered.

Right-wingers hate nuns? Since when exactly?

Seriously, I do hope that both of them RIP!

As for pope Francis, why don't you leave him OUT of this nightmare. He does not have a role here.

I understand that many folks, particularly here in the U.S., may not be familiar with the history of violence against nuns for their social activism by right-wing regimes. Here are some of the best-known examples (there are many):

El Salvador: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/world/4-salvadorans-say-they-killed-us-nuns-on-orders-of-military.html

Guatemala: http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/01/world/nun-tortured-in-guatemala-seeks-us-files.html

Argentina: http://www.desaparecidos.org/nuncamas/web/english/library/nevagain/nevagain_240.htm

Nazi Germany: http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/catholic-martyrs-of-the-holocaust

And even the Vatican itself (albeit sans the murders): https://www.ncronline.org/news/sisters-stories/new-inquisition-vatican-targets-us-nuns

Are you aware that it wasn't too long ago that the Klan included Catholics as one of the groups they hated? (Something that always made me proud when I was a practicing Catholic.)

Forest444 was merely speculating on attitudes that may have led to the violence against these two nuns and how the current pope with his more Christ-like views of the poor is not appreciated in some circles.

"...very likely far-right political motive" is a rather far cry from "we certainly can't rule out a politically-motivated hit..." A far enough cry in fact, as to be accurately called Moving the Goalposts.

Additionally, we should review how many Caucasian religious members have been assassinated in the U.S. due solely to their religion. Being from, and maintaining my residence in the deep south as well, I believe you overstate the case against anti-Catholic sentiment; the aggregate numbers simply do not support your sentiment in regards to any direct or overt action taken against the Catholic church.

If the victims were black, lesbians or Muslims, I'd entertain the speculation (vis-vis violence against minorities, but not the church). As it stands however and lacking additional and relevant information, robbery may be the most statistically sound motive.

Little known by the public at large if they haven't been paying close attention. They live risky lives, unless they are part of some anti-Vatican II group.

You have objective sources supporting your allegation of the riskiness of being a Catholic in the contemporary U.S. coastal states?

Not a presentation. Sorry! Didn't know I'd be juried here. Bye-bye.

in the spirit of service leaves them more vulnerable than living in larger convent communities. Those are still very safety conscious.

Ministering to the poor here, even in deeply conservative places, isn't a death sentence.

Jeez.
This is not El Salvador. We are not in an active civil war, in case you haven't noticed.

So none of these links give much info.

Senseless killing.

What a loss! They did so much for that community, who will fill their shoes now? What amazing women!

Senseless is right.
Senseless and tragic.

I won't speculate.People do horrendous things for all kinds of reasons and I imagine they looked like an easy target for someone for some reason.

The whole thought of people who dedicate themselves to doing good falling prey to the worst in human nature is heartbreaking.

What could possibly be the motive? They have no money and only help the poor. Who could possibly want to harm them? This is heart breaking.

That was in the OP report some time ago; it's now been updated to say the car has been found about a mile away. They probably did have some money, just like everyone who lives in a house and runs a car has money, because you need to buy things to live. The story does say "authorities suspect robbery may have been the motive." They may not have had much money, or possessions that could be resold, but criminals are not all masterminds who pre-plan their crimes perfectly.

as it is one of their vows. They likely had very little worth stealing.

or that the house obviously had less inside worth stealing, when seen from the outside.

Judging from their lack of nun looking habits and the fact that they lived together, do you think it could be a hate crime and the perpetrator thought they were lesbians?

A suspect has been arrested in the killings of two nuns whose bodies were found in their Mississippi home Thursday, authorities said late Friday.



Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, was charged with two counts of capital murder "after an exhaustive interview" Friday night, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

Sanders, of Kosciusko, is charged in connection with the killings of Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68, who were found dead in their home in the rural town of Durant Thursday morning, the bureau

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rodney-sanders-arrested-charged-capital-murder-killing-mississippi-nuns-n638651

There is no mention of motive in the article.

Suspect doesn't really strike me as a right-wing El Salvadoran death squad member.

Looks like a typical run-of-the-mill shiftless loser who'd stab his own grandma for $5 worth of crack.

What is it about his appearance that makes you think that?

so excuse me if I don't feel better now.

But it seemed so...very likely.

They didn't have much, and their car wasn't taken far. If robbery was the motive it would be in a chop shop by now. In any case Mr. Sanders hasn't been tried and sometimes when there's a lot of community outrage the wrong people are accused.

So only rich people get robbed? That's an interesting theory there.

obvious yet inconvenient.

Oh wait...that's you.

In addition to being a popular plot device innocent people are regularly convicted of heinous crimes they didn't commit, and sometimes even exonerated:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/latest/

Wild.

A DU murder mystery program would be the most entertaining thing on TV. Too bad there isn't one.

I think we've all seen enough police dramas to know how suspects can be coerced into giving false confessions, but here's a video to explain how it's done:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/causes/false-confessions-admissions/

To give an idea of how often it happens, the Innocence Project, which steps in only after a conviction has been handed down, and only where there's sufficient DNA evidence to disprove it, states at the link above that "more than 1 out of 4 people wrongfully convicted but later exonerated by DNA evidence made a false confession or incriminating statement."

People have to remember that the father Almighty said to the Word which is Christ with us ; That prior to the days of Noah flood ! The father said to the word that it had Grieved him that he had made man ; Because the world was filled with Violence ! My Sincere Condolences to the Families of these Ladies !