The shocking stabbing to death of my fellow Capuchin brother, Bishop Luigi Padovese, the Apostolic Vicar in Anatolia, brings to mind the crucial role dialogue continues to play in Turkey between the Christian minority and the overwhelming Muslim majority.
Mons. Padovese had a distinguished academic and ecclesiastical profile. He was titular professor of the chair of Patristics at the Pontifical University Antonianum. There he spent 16 years as the director of the Institute of Spirituality. Moreover, he taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University and at the Accademia Alfonsina. The Capuchin bishop was one of the contemporary experts on Saint Paul. Among the several volumes he published on the subject, the last contribution he did was a co-authorship with Oriano Graziella, entitled Guida alla Turchia, I luoghi di San Paolo e delle origini cristiane (Guide to Turkey, the Places of St Paul and of Christianity’s Origins). For 10 years, Mons. Padovese was a visitor of the Pontifical Oriental Institute for the Congregation for Eastern Churches and a consultant of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. On 11 October, 2004, he was appointed as the Pope’s apostolic vicar of Anatolia.
In a speech which was published in Mondo e Missione in 2007, the Capuchin Prelate pictured himself as a “friend and lover of Turkey”. Throughout his public appearances and addresses, Mons. Padovese was an authentic apostle of peace and communion, especially in awful situations, such as the cold-blooded killing of the fidei donum priest, Father Andrea Santoro, in Trabizon in 2006. At Santoro’s funeral Mass homily, Bishop Padovese said: “We forgive the one who carried out this gesture. It is not by destroying those who think differently that conflicts are resolved. The only way forward is by dialogue, mutual knowledge, closeness and sympathy”. The good and wise shepherd warned that the unfortunate misuse of the media is fomenting an underlying religious conflict within the Turkish society. “But as long as on television channels we watch programmes that put Christianity in a bad light and show it as an enemy of Islam (and vice-versa), how can we think of a climate of peace?” By explicitly referring to the sacrifice of Father Santoro’s life, the Bishop said: “Whoever wished to do away with his physical presence, does not know that his witness is now stronger”.
In an interview given to the Italian press agency Adnkronos, on 26 May, Mons. Padovese drove home the point that dialogue is possible when human hearts are deeply rooted in prayer. “Among the fruits of the Pauline Year and of so many pilgrimages that continue to arrive, there is also the greater awareness of local Christians of the preciousness of these places for the Christian tradition. The presence of pilgrims reawakens the certainty of living in a Holy Land. Another positive effect has to do with Muslims. They see that Christians arrive who, far from enjoying the place as tourists, place themselves in an attitude of prayer, and that helps to overcome the reciprocal diffidence that accumulated in the past. I think that the most beautiful testimony that can be given to Turkey is that of seeing men and women who pray”.
On Wednesday, 2 June, the Bishop met with the Turkish authorities to tackle the difficulties the Christian minority is facing in the country whereas on Friday, 4 June, he would have been in Cyprus to welcome Benedict XVI. Unfortunately this plan has not been materialised. Nevertheless, we hope that Mons. Padovese’s murder will stir and intensify every effort for the cause of peace and reconciliation between Muslims and Christians both in Turkey and all over the world. In this Year for Priests, the Capuchin Bishop Luigi Padovese is another outstanding example of priestly gentleness, dedication and courage.
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap