The optional memorial of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, celebrated on 30 June, portrays the powerful and convincing witness of the martyrs.

In The Church of the Apostles and Martyrs, Henri Daniel-Rops wrote: “In the Acta Martyrorum, the reader is struck by evidence of a courage so sublime that, viewed on the human plane alone, it places these tens of thousands of willing victims among the most outstanding heroes the world has ever known ... witness given by man to man, demonstrating all that is best and purest in him… The martyrs testified for Christ in two ways: by their words and with their blood ... There is something catching about heroism ... Nothing links the supporters of a cause together so firmly as the bond of blood: it was the seal that ratified nascent Christianity.”

This can be seen in the nameless followers of Christ who were brutally massacred by Emperor Nero. The insane ruler used them as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. Both the pagan historian Tacitus and Saint Clement of Rome recount a night of horror on 15 August, 64 AD, where Christians were displayed in imperial parks in animal skins to be hunted, cruelly attacked and made into living torches to illuminate the road for Nero’s chariot. The tragic impact of such a murderous episode had longstanding fatal consequences. In fact, from 64 to 314, the name “Christian” was identical with “execution victim”.

Martyrdom has never ceased. It is still going on. God permits that his Church goes through its re- foundation, re-consolidated and restored through the martyrdom of her sons and daughters. As the 2nd century ecclesial writer, Tertullian, said: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church”, hence suggesting that the martyrs’ voluntary sacrifice of their very lives instils the grace of conversion in other people’s hearts.

An interesting event to draw attention to a new generation of martyrs was staged on 17 May at Westminster Cathedral. The “Night of Witnesses”, as it was called, was organised by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need to hammer in the message that persecution is seriously threatening the survival of the Christian faith in a number of countries, especially in the Middle East. Among the Church prelates who participated in this memorable event there was Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster; Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, Pakistan; Bishop Joannes Zakaria of Luxor, Egypt; and former Anglican bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, originally from Pakistan, an expert on interfaith issues.

It is always fascinating to hear the everyday witness of Christians who are paying the costly price of their lives for the faith they bravely embrace. A case in point is the story of Stephen Anjum who courageously fled Pakistan with his family to the UK after his wife was shot by extremists, who claimed that Anjums’ son had insulted the prophet Mohammed. “People in the U.K. and elsewhere in the West are simply not aware of the scale of the problems that we face in my country. We need major moral support so that people in my country can be safe from violence and intimidation.”

The essential part of the celebration was the prayer vigil for the suffering Church filled with readings and music, remembering the lives of Pakistan religious freedom campaigners like Shahbaz Bhatti who gave their life for the faith they believed in. Bhatti was the Pakistani Minister of Minority Affairs, the only Christian to serve in the Cabinet, who fought against blasphemy laws and became an international symbol of tolerance until his murder on 2 March 2011.

The bishops of Pakistan have already asked that Bhatti be publicly acknowledged as a martyr.

Vatican reporter John Allen says that today “about 150,000 Christians are killed around the world every year, either out of hatred for the faith or for works of charity inspired by the faith. That translates into one victim every three and a half minutes. In effect, we are witnessing the rise of an entire new generation of Christian martyrs.”

How can the Church not be constantly renewed?

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap

San Gwann