Relic of St Clement found in trash settles into Westminster Cathedral

Rome, Italy, Sep 29, 2017 / 12:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During a conference on rebuilding Christian villages on the Plains of Nineveh, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Christians are an essential part of Iraqi society, and must strive to be witnesses of peace true reconciliation.

One of the greatest challenges in Iraq right now is “to restore to the Christian communities the environment of a normal life, essential for all the families in overcoming fear and despair, and looking to the future with hope,” Cardinal Parolin said in his Sept. 28 speech.

The rebuilding of houses and villages, he said, “is the first and fundamental condition for the return of Christians to their own lands.”

However, beyond the rebuilding of cities and structures, Parolin said “there is the more important obligation of reconstructing Iraqi society and consolidating a harmonious and peaceful coexistence.”

“Here, Christians have the specific position to be artisans of peace, reconciliation and development,” he said.

And this mission, he added, is made all the more important in the context of current regional instability and “urgently demands a process of national reconciliation and shared effort by all parts of society to achieve shared solutions for the good of the whole country.”

Cardinal Parolin was one of seven panelists participating in a half-day symposium organized by the pontifical organization Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on efforts to rebuild Christian towns and villages on the Nineveh Plains.

In addition to Parolin, other speakers included Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, international president of ACN and prefect of the Congregation for Clergy; Archbishop Alberto Ortega Martin, apostolic nuncio to Iraq and Jordan; and Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad Luis Rafael Sako, among others.

During the symposium, one of ACN’s reconstruction projects, titled “Iraq, return to the roots,” was presented. From 2014-2017, the project has financed various programs for Christians in Iraq, amounting to an approximate total of 30 million euro.

Among the structures destroyed or damaged since the ISIS invasion of the Nineveh Plains in 2014, it is estimated that some 13,000 homes, schools, hospitals and religious buildings were completely or partially destroyed.

The project, with a total estimated cost of $250 million, aims to continue providing a concrete response to Christians from the Nineveh Plains who want to return to their homes.

In his speech, Cardinal Parolin noted the significance of the fact that the project draws participation from the three main Christian Churches in Iraq: the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac-Catholic Church and the Syriac-Orthodox Church, each of which had representatives present at the meeting.

“May the cooperation between Churches be a tangible sign of unity in charity,” the cardinal said, and thanked the bishops for their “generous commitment,” urging them “to spare no effort before overcoming the sources of tension between the various communities in order to obtain a renewed unity.”

“Such a witness of Christian unity is made all the more urgent and necessary by the complex situation that the country faces and the real danger of loss of the Christians and the Christian presence,” he said.

In addition to the challenges posed by violent extremism, the region has also undergone new threats to social stability with a Sept. 25 referendum held by the Kurdish Regional Government on whether to declare independence from the central Iraqi government in Baghdad.

In the referendum, Kurds voted almost unanimously in favor of the referendum, prompting concern on the part of some that a declaration of independence would lead to war between Baghdad and Kurdistan, which would likely take place on the Nineveh Plains, again putting Christians in harm’s way.

In his speech, Cardinal Parolin stressed the need to work for unity, saying one of the greatest challenges in Iraq right now is “to create the social, political and economic conditions to enable a new social cohesion which favors reconciliation and peace.”

This also entails ensuring Christians and other minorities have full rights, he said. Christians do not want to simply be “benignly tolerated,” but want “to be citizens whose rights are protected and guaranteed along with all the other citizens,” he said.

And without the option of returning to the cities and villages of their birth, “very little of the aforementioned would be possible.”

“Christian presence is fundamental in the Middle East for peace, stability and pluralism,” he stressed. “Each of the Christian communities have made their own contribution in the centuries.”

The presence of Christians is in “constant decline” due to a lack of security and an unclear future, Parolin said, adding that the conflicts and tensions of recent years have made the situation worse, posing a risk “not only for the survival of Christians, but also for the very possibility that the Middle East can be a place of coexistence between peoples of different religious and different ethnic groups.”

He stressed the importance of safeguarding the rights of Christians by means of “adequate juridical instruments,” including their right to return home, their right to security and to religious freedom.

“There is likewise a need to address the root causes of the phenomenon of terrorism and to promote inter-religious dialogue, mutual understanding,” he said, noting that while “much has been done” since the effort to re-take Mosul began a year ago, “much remains to be done.”

“The process of reconstruction (and) the return of Christians to a degree of normality in their lives should be the primary and urgent objective of our efforts,” he said.

This, Cardinal Parolin added, “will allow the Christian community in new force to face up to other challenges that await them, so that they can be fully and generously engaged in working for the common good of the entire nation.”

In his speech, which was a joint statement from the patriarchs of the three Christian Churches in the region, Patriarch Sako said that in the face of the Christian genocide perpetrated by ISIS, “it is our duty” to reconstruct the houses and villages of Christians.

Their presence in these areas, he said, “is as important as maintaining witnesses of Gospel values, otherwise, they will leave the country.”

In order to help Christians stay, he stressed the need for educational and political support, humanitarian assistance, the defeat of fundamentalism, and security and stabilization of the areas freed from ISIS so that those displaced by the group can return home.

“Iraqi Christians need well-defined support and strong action to save them and help them return to their towns, homes and jobs,” he said, urging those in positions of authority to be “seriously open-minded.”

In many ways, Iraqi culture is still deeply “tribal,” Sako said, and as such is frequently drawn to war, violence and revenge.

Going into the future, “we need to be trained to live in peace, respecting life and living in harmony together despite our religion or ethnicity,” he said.

He also pushed for a swift stabilization of areas recently liberated from ISIS, saying this sense of security is “essential” in ensuring both the “rapid return” of those who have been displaced, and long-term protection.

When it comes to putting an end to terrorism in the region, the patriarch stressed that a military victory over ISIS “does not mean all of the problems have been solved.” This, he said, is because the extremist ideology continues to present “a fundamental problem and risk for us all.”

“Therefore, it is urgent for all who are concerned to work together for dismantling and eradicating the extremists’ widespread ideology,” he said, explaining that this can be possible through adequate educational programs.

Patriarch Sako closed his address saying Christians in Iraq “love our land, where our root traces back to thousands of years and we want to stay and contribute in the reconstruction of our country.”

“Christians also have not only problems and sufferings; they have a mission in Iraq,” he said, explaining that they want to stay faithful to Christ and understand faith as a journey “into the light that can ‘point the way.’”

“It is like a lamp that burns and turns into a joy, that brightens our night,” he said, and “with this faith we can overcome fears by daily prayers while we are awaiting our blessed hope.”

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Pope Francis appeared in a wheelchair at his general audience on Feb. 28, 2024. / Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Feb 28, 2024 / 12:01 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis this week called for prayers for, and expressed his closeness to, the victims of twin ter… […]

CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2020 / 03:01 am (CNA).- The Valley of the Fallen is a monumental complex near Madrid which includes an abbey and basilica, and which honors the fallen of both sides during the Spanish civil war. The bodies of more than 30,000 victims of the war are buried in the complex.

Among them lie 57 Blesseds and 15 Servants of God.

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 was fought between the Nationalist forces, led by Francisco Franco, and the Republican faction. During the war, Republicans martyred thousands of clerics, religious, and laity; of these, 11 have been canonized, and 1,915 beatified.

Fr. Santiago Cantera, prior of the Abbey of the Holy Cross, recently spoke at an event organized by the Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón to commemorate the martyrs who died during the religious persecution of the Civil War. The prior highlighted some of the common characteristics of the martyrs, who came from diverse backgrounds.

The martyrs who are buried in the Basilica of the Holy Cross “are the finest testimony of forgiveness and reconciliation” and belong to all states in life: “laity, diocesan and religious priests, consecrated men and women religious, people of all ages, but also a large group of young people, such as Rafael Lluch, a 19-year-old member of Vincentian Youth and Catholic Action,” Cantera explained.

Acceptance of martyrdom

One aspect the martyrs all share in common, Cantera highlighted, was their “acceptance of martyrdom,” giving “the finest testimony for peace, forgiveness and the reconciliation of the Spanish people, because they died forgiving their executioners without any hatred.”

Blessed Juan Pedro de San Antonio, a 46 year-old Passionist priest, was hiding in a boarding house along with four other brothers from the congregation. He told the owner of the boarding house that “if anyone takes us out to shoot us, I ask that no one bear hatred or resentment for the evil they are thinking of doing to us. The Lord allows it for our sanctification.”

Before dying, Fr. Antonio Martínez Lópe said he wanted to bless his executioners, but they struck his arm and broke it before killing him. “These are examples of the peace with which they died, in the absence of hatred, with the will to forgive and to reconcile,” the prior noted.

A supernatural outlook

Another common element is  “the supernatural outlook they had at the time of martyrdom,” Fr. Cantera said. These martyrs “looked to eternity, they lived out the love of God and this led them to imitate Christ even to the ultimate consequence, accepting death as having a redemptive meaning for all men.”

During the years of religious persecution in Spain it was common for the martyrs to say goodbye with the words “Until (we meet again in) Heaven.”

Rafael Lluch, the youngest of the martyrs buried in the Basilica of the Holy Cross, was arrested for carrying a holy card of the Virgin of the Forsaken in his pocket and belonging to the association of the Miraculous Medal. The young man said goodbye to his mother saying: “Don’t cry, I’m going to give my life for our God, I’ll wait for you in Heaven.”

“Long live Christ the King” were also the last words of many of the martyrs, such as Blessed Florencio López Egea, whose executioners stuck thorns in his eyes demanding he blaspheme, but he always replied “Long live Christ the King.”

Also sharing this supernatural outlook are the 23 sisters belonging to the Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. Seven of them are buried in the Basilica of the Holy Cross.

When they were riding in a truck on the way to being shot, “they all knelt down to receive the Sacred Hosts that they had kept in a watch case,” Fr. Cantera related. “The driver of the truck carrying them after they had been arrested told his wife how much he admired them: ‘I saw them all die, most of them young, with smiles on their faces and blessing God. What women. They were Adorers.’”

Love for the priesthood

Another common aspect of the martyrs is “their love for the priesthood and the priestly ministry,” the prior said, citing Blessed Enrique López Ruiz. An altar boy described him as “a true apostle of Jesus Christ.” The militiamen wanted to stop him from offering Mass, but he refused to leave his parish and the faithful.

The “willingness to die and be martyred, offered in immolation for the salvation of Spain” is also a hallmark of the martyrs.

Blessed Josefa María, a Salesian sister, refused the offer to hide in the house of a relative whom she told: “If Spain has to be saved by the shedding of our blood, we ask God for it to be as soon as possible.” Or Blessed Florencio López, who on his way to be shot was singing a song he had composed himself asking the Virgin “to save quickly the Spanish people.”

Enduring torture and cruelty

Cantera also pointed to the cruelty suffered by the martyrs, to which they responded with their love for God and by offering their lives for Spain, as did Fr. Domingo Campoy, a curate of a parish in Almería who was tortured on one of the prison ships.

This priest served in the military as a chaplain and interceded for the release of a soldier who had been arrested who later became one of his executioners.

Serving the needy

The prior noted that almost all of them dedicated a large part of their lives to performing works of charity, such as the Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, whose charism is helping young women at risk of falling into prostitution.

Fr. Cantera also wanted people “to know the great spiritual wealth and theological mark sealed upon his soul by the Valley of the Fallen as an authentic place of peace and reconciliation in the shadow of the redemptive Cross, a symbol that reminds us of the redemption of Christ, the reconciliation that God has accomplished to which he invites all men.”

The Valley of the Fallen

The complex was inaugurated in 1959 under Franco, who was Spain’s head of state from the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the Nationalist forces he led defeated the Republican faction, until his death in 1975.

The government of Pedro Sanchez, secretary-general of the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party, in September introduced the Law on Democratic Memory.

The bill seeks to transform the Valley of the Fallen into a civil cemetery, and would expel the Benedictine community. It would also bar publicly funded groups from glorifying Franco, the BBC reported.

While removing the 150 meter cross that presides over the valley is not explicitly mentioned in the bill, it has been considered on other occasions.

Franco’s body was exhumed from the Basilica of the Holy Cross in October 2019 by the Sanchez government. Fr. Cantera said the exhumation failed to respect the inviolability of the abbey as a sacred place.

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