When James (Jim Foley) an American journalist, was tragically murdered by the terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in 2014 a video showing his beheading was released by the group, shocking the world and drawing widespread condemnation. Jim Foley's death was a horrific and senseless act of violence but his heartbroken mother, Diane Foley was determined that her son's death would not be in vain.
In this interview with Pat Coyle, she is joined by well-known Irish author (based in New York) Colm McCann. He has just co-published a book about Diane and Jim called American Mother. Together they tell her of, what they call, the God -instances that brought them together and how they continue.
Diane speaks of both her and Jim's Jesuit connections. He attended the Jesuit-run Marquette University where 'Be the Difference' was their motto, which she says, changed him. She did the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius every week in a little church in Maine, all through Jim's captivity in Syria. "Two years of prayer that got me through it," she says.
