May 7, 2000
1. "Unless
a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (
John
12:24).
With these words on the eve of his
Passion, Jesus foretells his glorification through his death. We have just heard this challenging truth in the Gospel acclamation. It resounds forcefully tonight in this significant place, where
we remember the "witnesses to the faith in the twentieth century".
Christ is the
grain of wheat who by dying has borne fruits of everlasting life. And down the centuries his disciples have followed in the
footsteps of the
Crucified King, becoming a numberless multitude "from every
nation,
race,
people and
language": apostles and
confessors of the faith, virgins and
martyrs, bold heralds of the Gospel and
silent servants of the Kingdom.
Dear
Brothers and Sisters united by faith in Jesus Christ! I am especially
happy today to offer you my brotherly
embrace of peace, as we
commemorate together the witnesses to the faith in the twentieth century. I warmly greet the
representatives of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate and of the other
Orthodox Sister Churches, as well as those of the ancient Churches of the East. I likewise thank the representatives of the
Anglican Communion, of the worldwide Christian Communities of the West and of the Ecumenical Organizations for their fraternal presence. Gathered as we are at the Colosseum for this meaningful
jubilee celebration, our coming together this evening is for all of us a
source of great emotion. The
monuments and
ruins of ancient Rome speak to humanity of the
sufferings and
persecutions endured with
fortitude by our forebears in the faith, the christians of the
first generations. These ancient remains remind us how true are the words of Tertullian who wrote:
"sanguis martyrum semen christianorum" — the blood of the martyrs is the seed of new Christians (Apol.,50,13: CCL 1, 171).
2. The experience of the martyrs and the witnesses to the faith is not a characteristic only of the Church's beginnings but marks every epoch of her history. In the twentieth century, and maybe even more than in the first period of Christianity, there has been a vast number of men and women who bore witness to the faith through sufferings that were often heroic. How many Christians in the course of the twentieth century, on every continent, showed their love of Christ by the shedding of blood! They underwent forms of persecution both old and new, they experienced hatred and exclusion, violence and murder. Many countries of ancient Christian tradition once more became lands where fidelity to the Gospel demanded a very high price. In our
century "the witness to Christ borne even to the shedding of blood has become a common inheritance of
Catholics,
Orthodox,
Anglicans and
Protestants" (Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 37).
The
generation to which I belong experienced the
horror of war, the
concentration camps, persecution. In my homeland, during the
Second World War, priests and Christians were deported to
extermination camps. In
Dachau alone some
three thousand priests were interned. Their sacrifice was joined to that of many Christians from other European countries, some of whom belonged to other
Churches and Ecclesial Communities.
I myself am a witness of much pain and many trials, having seen these in the years of my youth. My priesthood, from its very beginning, was marked "by the great sacrifice of countless men and women of my generation" (Gift and Mystery, p. 39). The experience of the Second World War and of the years following brought me to consider carefully and with gratitude the shining example of those who, from the beginning of the twentieth century to its end, met persecution,
violence,
death, because of
their faith and because their behaviour was inspired by
the truth of Christ.
3. And there are so many of them! They must not be forgotten, rather they must be remembered and their lives documented. The names of many are unknown; the names of some have been denigrated by their persecutors, who tried to add disgrace to martyrdom; the names of others have been concealed by their executioners. But Christians preserve the memory of a great number of them. This is shown by the numerous replies to the invitation not to forget, received by the "New Martyrs" Commission within the Committee for the
Great Jubilee. The Commission has worked hard to enrich and update the Church's memory with the witness of all those people, even those who are unknown, who "risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus
Christ" (
Acts 15:26). Yes, as the
Orthodox Metropolitan
Benjamin of Saint Petersburg, martyred in 1922, wrote on the eve of his execution: "The times have changed and it has become possible to suffer much for love of Christ...".
With the same conviction, from his cell in Buchenwald, the
Lutheran Pastor Paul Schneider asserted once more in the presence of his prison guards: "Thus says the Lord, 'I am the resurrection and the life!'".
The presence of representatives of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities gives today's
celebration particular
significance and eloquence in this Jubilee Year 2000. It shows that the example of the
heroic witnesses to the faith is truly
precious for all Christians. In the twentieth century, almost all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities have known persecution, uniting Christians in their places of suffering and making their shared
sacrifice a sign of
hope for times still to come.
These brothers and sisters of ours in faith, to whom we turn today in
gratitude and
veneration, stand as a vast panorama of Christian humanity in the twentieth century, a panorama of the Gospel of the Beatitudes, lived even to the
shedding of blood.
4. "Blessed are you when they insult
you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12). How well these words of Christ fit the countless
witnesses to the faith in the last century,
insulted and persecuted, but never broken by the power of evil!
Where
hatred seemed to
corrupt the whole of life leaving no escape from its
logic, they proved that "love is stronger than death". Within
terrible systems of
oppression which disfigured man, in places of pain, amid the hardest of privations, through senseless
marches, exposed to
cold and
hunger,
tortured,
suffering in so many ways, they loudly proclaimed their
loyalty to Christ crucified and risen.
In a few moments we shall hear some of their striking testimonies.
Countless numbers refused to yield to the
cult of the false gods of the twentieth century and were sacrificed by
Communism,
Nazism, by the
idolatry of
State or race. Many others fell in the course of ethnic or tribal wars, because they had rejected a way of
thinking foreign to the Gospel of Christ. Some went to their death because, like the
Good Shepherd, they
decided to remain with their people, despite
intimidation. On every continent and throughout the entire
twentieth century, there have been those who preferred to die rather than betray the
mission which was theirs.
Men and women
Religious lived their consecration to the shedding of blood. Men and women believers died
offering their lives for love of their brothers and sisters, especially the poorest and the weakest. Many women
lost their lives in order to defend their
dignity and purity.
5. "Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25).
A few minutes ago we listened to these words of Christ. They contain a truth which today's world often
scorns
and rejects, making
love of self the supreme criterion of life.
But
the witnesses to the faith, who also this evening speak to us by their example, did not consider their own
advantage, their own well-being, their own survival as greater values than fidelity to the Gospel. Despite all
their weakness, they vigorously resisted evil. In their fragility there shone forth the power of faith and of the
Lord's grace.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, the precious
heritage which these
courageous witnesses have passed down to us
is a patrimony shared by all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities. It is a heritage which speaks more
powerfully than all the causes of division. The ecumenism of the
martyrs and the witnesses to the faith is the
most convincing of all; to the Christians of the twenty-first century it shows
the path to unity. It is the heritage of
the Cross lived in the light of Easter: a heritage which enriches and sustains Christians as they go forward into
the new
millennium.
If we glory in this
heritage it is not because of any partisan spirit and still less because of any desire for
vengeance upon the persecutors, but in order to make manifest the
extraordinary power of God, who has not
ceased to act in every time and place. We do this as we ourselves offer
pardon, faithful to the example of the
countless witnesses killed even as they
prayed for their persecutors.
6. In the century and the millennium just begun may the
memory of these brothers and sisters of ours remain
always
vivid. Indeed, may it grow still stronger! Let it be passed on from generation to generation, so that from
it there may
blossom a profound Christian renewal! Let it be guarded as a treasure of
consummate value for
the Christians of the new millennium, and let it become the leaven for bringing all Christ's disciples into full
communion! It is with a heart filled with deep emotion that I express this hope. I pray to the Lord that the cloud
of witnesses which surrounds us will help all of us who believe to express with no less courage our own love for
Christ, for him who is ever alive in his Church: as he was yesterday, and is today, and will be
tomorrow and for
ever!
(
Vatican Translation)
This preceded testimonies to the Witnesses of the Faith of the Twenieth century. The testimonies were presented in eight groups the Witnesses to the Faith under Soviet
Totalitarianism, Witnesses to the Faith under communism in other European countries, Those who bore witness under Nazism and fascism, Witnesses in
Asia and Oceania, The faithful persecuted because of
hatred towards Catholicism, Wintesses in
Africa and
Madagascar,Witnesses to the Faith in
America, Witnesses to the faith in various parts of the world. Some of the testimonies which were read were by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Tichon, an anonymous witness at the gulag on the Solovki Islands, Bishop Joan Suciu, Father Anton Luli, Pastor Paul Schneider, Bishop Ignacy Jego, Bishop Emeritus of Koszalin-Kobrzeg, The Polish Priests sent to Concentration Camps, Margherita Chou, The Anglicans killed in Japanese Concentration camps, the Bishop of Shanghai,Jolique Rusimbamigera, José de Jesús Manríquez y Zárate, W.G.R. Jotcham,
Bishop Alejandro Labaka and
Apostolic Patriarch Karekin I.
From www.zenit.org and www.vatican.va.