may 10, 2000

A CENTURY OF BLOOD AND FAITH
Andrea Riccardi's Book on 20th Century Witnesses

VATICAN CITY, (ZENIT.org).- Mondadori has just published Andrea Riccardi's 526-page book entitled "The Century of Martyrs," in Italian. Riccardi, the father of a family and professor of History, is also the founder of the St. Egidio Community, one of the fastest-growing ecclesial movements of our times.

The volume makes use of the research carried out by the "New Martyrs" Commission, created by John Paul II himself for the Jubilee. On May 7, in an unprecedented ecumenical celebration, the Holy Father and representatives of all Christian denominations, remembered the 20th century witnesses.

Mass Martyrdom

To date, the Commission has identified 12,692 "20th century witnesses of the faith." The list will be given to the Pope this autumn, and he will decide how it will be used. Obviously, the figure on the list is much lower than the reality. A study of Vatican experts estimates that these men and women, who gave their life for Christ over the past century, number close to 3 million.

The century of human rights also caused the death of many of Christ's disciples. How could this happen? A cursory look at Riccardi's book elicits both surprise and distress. Many of the witnesses give their testimony up to the point of death; not all, however, will be proclaimed martyrs in keeping with canonical procedure.

Andrea Riccardi himself, was the first to be surprised by his findings. "I cannot say that I didn't know about the history of persecutions in this century. But I was not aware of its breadth and depth. These are not stories of courageous Christians but of mass martyrdom," Riccardi commented, after thoroughly researching the archives of the Vatican Commission for "New Martyrs."

"Martyrdom" -- A Complex Idea

The word "martyrdom" itself has presented the greatest difficulties, both for the Vatican Commission as well as for author Riccardi. John Paul II has associated it with the century that is ending, "with the intuition of a man and pastor who was formed in the period of the two atheistic totalitarianisms."

His personal experience enabled him to understand that the 20th century has been a period in which "the Church has become a martyr again, through 'ordinary' figures who gave their life rather than deny their Christian identity."

However, the collection of all these testimonies and their publication in an ordered manner, does not mean "a process of mass canonization," but responds to the Church's obligation to "recover the memory." It includes situations that are extremely different one from another: it spans the distance from the Soviet "gulags" to the Nazi concentration camps, to the missionaries in Africa who gave their life caring for the sick. It also includes the extermination of Armenians.

Riccardi ended with surprise: "In almost all countries there are victims who died so as not to deny their faith or because they lived a life inspired in it: entire peoples perished, the poor and intellectuals, Cardinals and Bishops. There was even an attempt to assassinate a Pope in the 20th century..."

Failure of Reason

Riccardi thinks that this persecution came in our century "because it believed that the triumph of reason had arrived: modernity had to be secular and anti-religious, and it did not accept the survival of man as believer. Millions of Christians were felled by its sickle, but also the faithful of other religions."

But there is another decisive phenomenon highlighted by Riccardi. "Never as in this century has the Gospel been preached in regions of the planet so distant from countries with Christian roots. In many areas, as for example in Asia, Christians have been the victims of hatred unleashed by other religions against their presence."

Why Remember?

This Jubilee will be especially remembered for two unprecedented events that took place within a short interval of one another: the solemn petition for forgiveness for the sins committed by the children of the Church, and the commemoration of the witnesses of the faith of the various Christian denominations. "The Church asks for forgiveness and, at the same time, offers forgiveness. Christians have been killed by violent regimes, as well as by other Christians who persecuted them in the name of a badly understood 'justice.' We don't remember to harbor rancor, but to learn. In the 20th century the Church has been a martyr as never before in history, as it suffered mass martyrdom. The Pope asks that we reflect on the lesson of a whole body of witnesses, the majority of whom are unknown. As an historian, I limit myself to reconstruct events and their context: I hope that others will be motivated to explore this treasure."