"A renewed conscience of contemporary Church about the crucial role played by martyrdom in the lives of believers": according to Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia and president of the CEI Commission for ecumenism and dialogue, that is the meaning of the prayer’s day for the "new martyrdoms". That day will be celebrated on 24 March, Easter Monday, the day of martyrdom for Salvador archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, recalled by John Paul II in the celebration for the "new martyrdoms" on 10th May 2000, at Coliseum. Romero’s death, said the bishop, is "a death which today collects all the other deaths, until the latest one, the death of Msgr. Rahho", another bishop becoming the "victim of violence, which is going on hitting Christians, who pay their blood contribution". "Martyrdom is an integral part of the Gospel; it is its core", recalled Paglia in a note for the Umbrian weekly "La Voce di Perugia", in which he mentioned a personal memory: "Last February 5th, I was in Trebisonda to recall the second anniversary of Father Andrea Santoro. I wanted to sit on the last bench where he was praying, while he was killed with two pistol shots. He was holding a Bible in his hands. One of the two bullets with which he was shot crossed his heart and pierced the Bible, as though someone wanted to link that heart and that Bible with blood".
