Priestly martyrdom

The irresponsible publication of the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, which brought about global waves of violent protests, stirred certain people to counter the received offence by resorting to violence. The innocent killing of an Italian committed priest, Father Andrea Santoro, was a case in point.

Father Santoro is a shining example of what it means to be a good shepherd for Christ's flock. His unfailing commitment to Christ and to his little yet fervent Christian community of Trabzon in Turkey are points that every convinced priest should interiorise in his priestly vocation. In the funeral homily, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for the diocese of Rome, depicted Father Andrea as one who "took Jesus Christ very seriously and tried with all his strength to move always and rigorously in the logic of Christ".

Father Santoro is the grain of wheat which falls into the earth and dies. And because it dies, it does not remain alone, but bears much fruit (see John 12:24). Father Andrea's ardent and faithful love for Christ and his Church made him confess with St Ignatius of Antioch, a Turkish Christian martyr in the early days of Christianity: "Let my blood be spilled in sacrifice to God... Let me be fodder for wild beast - that is how I can get to God. I am God's wheat and I am being ground by the teeth of wild beasts to make a pure loaf for Christ... Now is the moment I am beginning to be a disciple. May nothing seen or unseen begrudge me making my way to Jesus Christ" (Romans 2:4).

Father Santoro was a gift of faith to the Church in Turkey. He not only was respectful of the local customs but also sought to build bridges between the Christian and the Muslim communities. This silent and courageous servant of Christ dialogued and collaborated with the Muslim brethren to foster mutual recognition, understanding, preservation and promotion of the spiritual and moral heritage and the socio-cultural values which are common to both faiths.

May Father Santoro's martyrdom reaffirm the need for Christian-Muslim dialogue to intensify. Furthermore, may it serve to increase both the number and the quality of Christ's disciples in the world; as the third century ecclesicalwriter Tertullian said: "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church".