The three letters

To live and think as Christians in a non-Christian world (October 2005), “Be always ready to bear witness to the hope you have inside” (2006-2007), and “We are the successors of Paul and of the first Christians” (2007-2008). These are the three pastoral letters which Msgr. Luigi Padovese, Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia, left to the faithful before being brutally murdered by his driver on June 3rd in Iskenderun. He was described as a “martyr”. But Msgr. Padovese already was a “martyr”, if this word is given its true accent and meaning, of “witness”. Msgr. Padovese was a “martyr” because he bore witness to Christ with his own life. This he conveyed in the letters of which SIR Europe presents brief excerpts, a month after his death and in view of the Feast of the Patron Saints of Rome, Peter and Paul, on June 29, when a delegation of the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople will have meetings in the Vatican.“To live and think as Christians in a non-Christian world” (October 2005). “Of all the Countries with an ancient Christian tradition, none had so many martyrs like Turkey. This land was washed with the blood of many martyrs who chose to die for Christ instead of denying Him … Dear brothers, we may not be asked to witness our faith until martyrdom, but in truth we are indeed asked to witness it… We are well aware that it’s not always easy to witness our Christian identity in our Country. We are conditioned by the surrounding environment. At times we’re even afraid to say who we are for the social consequences that could ensue… Our beloved land of Turkey has thousands of martyrs. They invite us to be aware and happy of our Christian identity… We all live here in a minority condition compared to our Muslim brothers. I invite you to consider this situation as an opportunity to become increasingly aware of our faith. In Countries with a Christian majority there is a larger risk to identify oneself as Christian without truly being one. Here we are called to be Christians and show that we are Christians. Our commitment is not converting others to our faith but to speak with our lives more than with our words”.“Be always prepared to bear witness to the hope you have inside” (2006-2007). “You are all familiar with the difficulties experienced this year by our Church of Anatolia: the murder of Don Andrea Santoro, the wounding of Fr. Pierre Brunissen in Samsun, the threats against the fathers of Mersin, the closing of the church of Adana, the ongoing hostile attitude against us by certain local press. Before these situations we are tempted to close ourselves in anonymity, to mix ourselves with others for fear, opportunism and often, unfortunately, only for economic survival. Given this situation it’s easy to give in to discouragement and resignation and I admit that I was also tempted to give in to this feeling … But what can be done? First of all we must become aware that in these events it is necessary to discover a meaning. God speaks to us not only through the Bible but also through people and events. For example, what does God tell us with the death of Fr. Andrea? He reminds us that being the disciples of Jesus in this world isn’t easy. In fact, it could even be risky. Indeed, is it not true that also today we experience the repetition of what Jesus predicted and personally experienced: ‘the moment will come when they will kill you thinking they are pleasing God’?… The sacrifice of this priest invites us to revive our Christian identity… We don’t call ourselves Christians only in certain hours of the day, but always”. “We are the Successors of Paul and of the first Christians” (2007-2008). “It’s been almost three years since the Divine Providence has sent me amongst you. I can’t say that these years have been easy. There have been many worries and concerns which have stripped me of my tranquility and like Peter at sea I asked the Lord: ‘Help me since I am sinking’. In spite of everything, I can tell you that I am happy of being with you and I thank God for the privilege of being part of our Church in Anatolia. The difficulties I have experienced were perhaps a trial to understand whether I truly love this community… Allow me to refer to a difficulty which is often cause of sadness to me: I am under the impression that our faith is conventional, that it lacks insight and is expressed with scarce attendance at the Community prayer, especially on Sunday. Many of you belong to families which have had the courage to remain Christian despite contrary external forces. You are well aware that in the past century in our land of Turkey numerous Christians out of need or convenience, certainly unwillingly, renounced their faith or hid it. There still are hundreds of thousands of descendants of these ancient-Christian families and I am pleased to note that every once in a while occasionally someone recalls the faith of their parents or grandparents… the faith transmitted by those who came before us is not an ancient painting we keep in our homes. It’s the gift of God that doesn’t thrive without our cooperation”.