The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
18 January 2004
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29 die for Church
By Chris Lindsay
Twenty-nine Catholic missionaries lost their lives last year while serving overseas, according to Vatican newsagency Fides’ Martyrology for 2003.
Many were killed during robberies, such as Fr Anton Probst, a 68-year-old
German priest who was murdered after saying midnight Mass in Cameroon on
Christmas
Eve.
When he returned to his room he was confronted by thieves who gagged and
bound him, then beat him to death.
Fr Anton had been working in Cameroon for 11 years, after spending 24 years on mission in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The national director of Catholic Mission Australia, Fr Terry Bell, says 2003 was worse than most years for Catholic martyrdom.
“
We usually average about 20 deaths a year, but 2003 was a little up on that
average,” he said.
“
In 2002 there were 23 deaths.”
Fr Bell said most of the deaths were crime-related and not motivated
by religious prejudice.
He said that some time ago he visited a priest in South Africa who
had set up a tremendous facility for educating blind people and giving
them
work.
“ I said Mass there with him and only a month later found he had been killed in a robbery,” Fr Bell said.
Australia currently has 450 Catholic missionaries working in 49
countries around the world, including Uganda, South Africa, Kenya,
Pakistan,
India, Brazil,
Guatemala and Colombia. Colombia is one of the worst countries
for attacks on Catholic priests and religious.
No Australians missionaries lost their lives in 2003.
The last Australian missionary to die working overseas was Fr
Fabian Thom in August 2001.
Thieves broke into his monastery outside the Papua New Guinea
capital of Port Moresby and shot him dead while he slept in
his bed.
Fr Fabian had worked in Papua New Guinea for 38 years.
Of the 29 people who died in 2003, 11 were African, eight South American, seven European and three Asian. Twenty were priests, one was a brother, three were seminarians, four were lay people and one was an archbishop.
The archbishop killed was Ireland’s Archbishop Michael Courtney, who was shot dead in his car during an ambush on December 29 in Burundi, where he was apostolic nuncio.
Those killed were people who risked their lives rather than give up their mission and apostolate, and Pope John Paul II calls them ‘martyrs of charity’.
During the Angelus prayer on December 26, the feast
of St Stephen, the first martyr, the Pope asked Catholics
to pray
for communities
and individual
believers
who suffer for their faith.
“
I wish especially to remember those Christian communities which suffer persecution
and all believers who suffer for the faith. May the Lord give them the strength
to persevere and the ability to love those who cause their suffering,” he
said.
To help Catholic Mission support missionaries overseas, freecall 1800 257 296 or visit www. catholicmission.org.au to make a donation.