The fundamental option

“The death of Father Andrea is one of those testimonies which enters the depths of history and raises towards the kingdom of peace, justice and love”. These were the closing words of the homily pronounced on February 5th by Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, bishop of Terni-Amelia-Narni (Italy) and President of the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue of Italy’s Bishops Conference in Saint Mary’s in Trabzon Church (Turkey) where Father Andrea Santoro was killed two years ago. “This small Church”, said Msgr. Paglia, who celebrated a Mass with Msgr. Luigi Padovese, Apostolic vicar of Anatolia, “sadly joined the many Calvaries of modern times , one of the holy places where the disciples shed their blood along with that of their Teacher”. Father Andrea joins “the countless new martyrs of the past century and of the beginning of this third millennium”. “Their testimony – bishop Paglia said – saves the world, preventing men’s history from falling into the abyss of violence and injustice”. Follows a memory of Father Santoro by Father Ruben Tierrablanca, from the ecumenical fraternity of Saint Mary Draperis in Istanbul.Father Andrea, impassioned by the Gospel’s proclamation, committed himself in all environments to fulfill his ministry in the Apostolic Vicarage of Anatolia, firstly in Urfa and then in Trabzon. In addition to the service to the very few Christians attending his parish, the relationship with the Turkish Moslem population was his daily experience. He wanted the good of his people, not only as relates to the religious dimension but also in the realm of social justice, always motivated by his faith. His testimony of prayer the moment he was killed will always remain exemplary to us. Before this and other similar events, many voices have been heard, some of protest some others of proposals to improve the situation. Certainly all are valid. However, we should ask ourselves, what is the right attitude to be held by a Christian who is also committed in consecrated life as all of us priests are, religious men and women of the Catholic Church living and serving on this land? If we have just listened to the proclamation of the Beatitudes, it should constitute the word of life inspiring our Christian life and actions: far from being afraid, far from polemics and divisions, trying to avoid responding to the media’s daily provocations. We do have many limits in expressing our Christian faith. However, we also have many opportunities to live the Gospel in its authenticity as the Apostles did when they listened to Jesus’ teachings on the mountain and as the first Christian communities of Asia Minor did when they listened to saint Paul and to other preeminent testimonies from this land. Speaking of a minority, such as Christians in Turkey, doesn’t only imply reading data and statistics to complain about later on. We must firstly consider the authenticity and the quality of our Christian life. The fact of being a small number, leads us to cultivate mutual solidarity, it helps us understand and relate to the People living near us, in the same way in which we relate to faithful of other Christian confessions and of other religions. If universal fraternity is the fruit of a minority condition, then we can say that we have an advantage and we don’t want to lose these evangelical gifts. In this way, in the realm of ecumenism, the work of the experts of doctrinal dialogue along with the organizers of social cooperation can continue with enthusiasm, counting on our commitment in the dialogue of life and spirituality which we intend to uphold in fidelity to the life-bearing Word. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, during which we came together with the Sister Churches from the East and with the ecclesial communities present in Istanbul, filled us with hope; since we are all one in Christ. The testimony left by Father Andrea Santoro, who offered his life for his flock, obliges us to continue along the path of dialogue with our brothers of Islamic faith and in particular with those who, like us, turned prayer into a fundamental option allowing them to express their faith, the gift destined to bear its fruits on this land.