German martyrs who gave their lives in the service of the Gospel in Africa. Clockwise from top left to bottom right: Bishop Cassian (Franz Anton) Spiess, Father Karl Maria Weber, Brother Bernhard Ignatius Sarnes, Bishop Adolph Schmitt, Sister Magdala (Christa Elisabeth) Lewandowski, and Brother Heinz vom Kreuz (Heinz) Eberlein / Credit: ACI Africa/Martyrology of the German Bishops’ Conference
ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, asked Father Helmut Moll, who has compiled biographies of more than 30 German martyrs who were reportedly victims of violence in Africa, what was being done to ensure their cause for canonization is opened.
“Your local Churches should ensure that these German martyrs are raised to the honor of the altars,” Moll replied, referring to the local ordinaries of the episcopal and metropolitan sees, as well as national bishops’ conferences, where the reported martyrdoms occurred.
As a starting point, he said, there is a need to translate the biographies of the Germans, who paid the ultimate price for evangelization in Africa, into African languages.
“Please translate the biographies of the African martyrs into your national language!” Moll urged during a March 7 interview, days after sharing the list of German martyrs killed in Africa. He said that currently these biographies “are being translated into Arabic, but there are difficulties with printing.”
The November 1994 apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II on the preparation for the Jubilee of the Year 2000, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, reportedly inspired the compilation of these biographies.
In the apostolic letter, Pope John Paul II said: “At the end of the second millennium, the Church has once again become the Church of martyrs. In our century, martyrs have returned, often unknown, akin to ‘unknown soldiers’ of the great cause of God.”
The German martyrs in Africa whose profiles have been documented include Father Franz Jäger, a member of the Oblates who was killed in 1905 in South West Africa during the Herero Uprising. South West Africa was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990 and became the present-day Namibia.
Others include three Dominican missionaries who lost their lives in Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) in 1977: Sisters Magdala (Christa Elisabeth) Lewandowski from Kiel, Epiphany (Berta) Schneider from Munich, and Ceslaus (Anna) Stiegler from the Upper Palatinate.
Moll told ACI Africa that he had contacted various religious and missionary orders who passed along the information about their members who were killed in Africa.
The German priest expressed optimism that German evangelists killed throughout Africa will revitalize the Church in Germany, noting that having paid the ultimate price, they “show the missionary zeal that is so important for our country today.”
Meanwhile, Moll, who has vast expertise in martyrology, has encouraged Christians in various African countries who are experiencing persecution because of their faith to embrace martyrdom with humility.
“Learn from these biographies,” he said of his list of the German martyrs who died for their faith far from their home country. “Accept the martyrdom of your members and raise them high as an example.”
Moll went on to challenge the Church in Africa to work toward ensuring that the sacrifice of those who give their lives for the sake of their faith is not forgotten.
“The bishops’ conferences in Africa are called upon to compile their own martyrologies so that missionaries and Indigenous people may become better known throughout the Catholic world,” Moll said.
This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted for CNA.
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ACI Africa, May 10, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
The Diocese of Makurdi in Nigeria has ordered the “immediate” closure of Father Angus Frazer Memorial High School for the safety of students and staff after an attack on the instit… […]
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey walks across the campus of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, on April 9, 2024. / Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited April 19, 2024
Boston, Mass., Apr 23, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
Pro-lifers in the Archdiocese of Boston are criticizing Cardinal Seán O’Malley over two recent appearances at Catholic education events by the pro-abortion governor of Massachusetts.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who supports legal and publicly funded abortion and who has taken steps to make abortions easier to obtain, spoke at a fundraiser for The Catholic Schools Foundation, which raises money for Catholic schools in the archdiocese and helps poor students attend.
O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is the chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation, though he was in Rome at the time of the gala and did not attend it.
Healey also recently visited a Catholic school north of Boston, speaking to students and answering questions.
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, called Healey’s appearances “a grave scandal.”
“Cardinal O’Malley should be ashamed of himself. Is Maura Healey an inspiring role model for Catholic students?” Doyle said.
Thomas Harvey, chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortions, called including Healey at the Catholic events “really disgraceful,” and he placed the blame on O’Malley.
“Maura Healey is a huge proponent of killing babies in the womb, in direct defiance of Catholic teaching, and yet here she is being presented to impressionable Catholic students as if she were a Catholic role model,” Harvey told the Register by text. “And the clear message being sent to Catholic students here is that killing babies in the womb is just not that big a deal.”
In June 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a document called “Catholics in Public Life,” which states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, pointed out that Healey was not an honoree at the gala or during her earlier appearance at the Catholic school.
Since Healey is the governor of the state, Donilon said, Cardinal O’Malley has worked with her “on a number of issues important to Catholics and the wider community,” including public funding for the archdiocese’s charitable work providing “basic needs assistance, job training, child care services, and immigration and refugee assistance to thousands of residents,” as well as building “badly needed affordable housing” and trying “to stem gun violence.”
“At the same time, the cardinal has been a leader in the pro-life movement for over 50 years and his commitment in being a staunch promoter of life is well known and unwavering,” Donilon said.
O’Malley, 79, a Capuchin Franciscan, has frequently attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and has spoken at pro-life rallies. Last week, The Boston Globe published a column by O’Malley urging state legislators to oppose a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.
But critics such as Doyle claim that O’Malley during his time as archbishop has seemed to mix easily and uncritically with abortion-supporting Catholic politicians, including the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (whose funeral Mass he celebrated), the late Boston mayor Thomas Menino, former Boston mayor Marty Walsh, and the current governor, Healey, with whom he co-authored a column in The Boston Globe in September 2017 on immigration.
Donilon, O’Malley’s spokesman, addressing Healey’s participation in The Catholic Schools Foundation gala last week, said that “the governor has been a vocal supporter of Catholic education. … Our Catholic schools save cities and towns hundreds of millions of dollars in education costs. Our families benefit from an outstanding education based in an excellent faith-based environment.”
Gov. Maura Healey speaks to students at St. John’s Prep on April 9, 2024. Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited on April 9, 2024.
Who is Maura Healey?
Healey, 53, was elected Massachusetts attorney general in 2014 with an endorsement from Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund. She served two terms as attorney general before being elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2022.
As an elected official, Healey has frequently supported public policies that clash with Catholic teachings on life and sexuality.
She has verbally attacked pro-life pregnancy centers, steered state government money to private abortion funds, and, in April 2023, quietly arranged for the flagship campus of the state-run University of Massachusetts to purchase 15,000 doses of abortion pills.
Healey’s administration in June 2023 successfully proposed a curriculum framework for public schools that calls for teaching between third and fifth grades “the differences between biological sex and gender identity” and “how one’s outward behavior and appearance does not define one’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Healey appeared Thursday, April 11, at the annual gala of The Catholic Schools Foundation at a hotel in Boston.
“So I didn’t have the benefit of going to Catholic school,” Healey said, according to a text of her remarks provided by a spokesman. “My mom went to Catholic school, and my nephew goes to Catholic school; we have priest[s] at the dinner table every Sunday. But I do know, both having been your attorney general and now as your governor, what your work means. And I can see that experience firsthand.”
She also said she wants to find ways “to partner” with the foundation “in the important work that you [are] doing.”
“And I want you to know that, as governor, I value our vibrant mix of education, our public schools, our private schools, and our religious schools,” Healey said.
Two days earlier, on Tuesday, April 9, Healey spent about 50 minutes with a group of 120 students at St. John’s Preparatory High School, a Catholic boys’ school founded by the Xaverian Brothers in Danvers, about 18 miles northeast of Boston, according to a description of the visit published on the school’s website. The school is in the Archdiocese of Boston, though it is not run by the archdiocese.
Healey had never visited the school before, “but it was quickly clear her personal values are closely aligned with those of the Xaverian Brothers,” the school’s write-up states.
Healey emphasized leadership and empathy during her remarks. The governor also told the students that while she believes in civil discourse, “there are some basic values that have kept our society intact,” and she told students they should “call out hate when you see it.”
“We can have differences of opinion on things,” Healey said, according to the school’s write-up, “but, to me, equality has got to abide. Respect for the dignity and worth of each person is something I call on people to really adhere to.”
Robert Joyce, a lawyer and member of the board of the Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal representation for pro-lifers, said that St. John’s Prep last fall turned down an offer he made to provide a pro-life assembly for students featuring a canon lawyer, a physician, and a vocations director. (The head of school, Edward Hardiman, did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.)
Joyce called Healey’s recent appearances at the gala and at the school “abominations for Catholic education.”
“They send the clear message to Catholic students and parents that critical, fundamental precepts of the Catholic faith are not all that important. In simple terms, they declare that protection of innocent unborn life and the defense of traditional marriage are negotiable with these Catholic educators,” Joyce indicated.
Healey is also a featured speaker at the annual Spring Celebration of Catholic Charities Boston scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston. O’Malley is expected to receive an award at the event for his work in welcoming immigrants.
Healey and the Catholic Church
Healey does not often talk about religion in public, but she occasionally identifies herself as a Catholic.
In October 2018, when she was state attorney general, she led off a brief column in The Boston Globe with the words: “As a member of law enforcement and as a Catholic …”
In April 2022, when Healey criticized Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester for calling for a Catholic school to take down a rainbow flag, she added, according to MassLive.com: “And I speak as a Catholic …”
In October 2022, during a debate while she was running for governor, Healey used a Catholic reference while defending herself from a claim by her Republican opponent that a bill she had supported effectively legalized infanticide, as the National Catholic Register subsequently reported. “You know, my mom goes to Mass every morning,” Healey said.
Healey is widely thought of as a potential candidate for other offices. She would be an obvious Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts if either of the two incumbents (both in their 70s) leaves office.
Additionally, just hours before her appearance at The Catholic Schools Foundation gala, Healey participated in an event at Northeastern University in Boston honoring former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. The moderator floated Healey as a potential future candidate for president of the United States, to applause from the audience.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.
Washington D.C., Mar 8, 2023 / 15:30 pm (CNA).
The Polish Bishops’ Conference says that “further archival research” is needed to fairly assess a new allegation, based on communist secret police records… […]
1 Comment
The article mentions Namibia, and then speaks of German martyrs who clearly died for the Faith. An important clarification in the cause of the whole Church…
And, Pope Francis correctly deplores “ideological colonization,” but seems to his constructive critics to be too selective as to what constitutes ideology and what does not. The “backwardist” vs forwardist false dichotomy. In current history, the complexity and ambiguity (a new ideology?) of our world calls for broad “fraternity” and—equally (!)—for great clarity in things of the Faith—both doctrinal and moral, together.
The point well made at this time by the bishops all across continental Africa regarding Fiducia Supplicans.
And, about past history and clarifying distinctions, under the early secular German state (not the Church), colonial Namibia became the first genocide of the 20th Century. https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/herero-revolt-1904-1907 Wondering, now, about the secularist/ideological der Synodal Weg; after having colonized the “synod” in Rome, will they now endorse and complicate the request from the German Bishops Conference?
Oh, wait, from the Conference, who exactly initiated this well-merited and yet curiously-timed (?) request to continental Africa?
The article mentions Namibia, and then speaks of German martyrs who clearly died for the Faith. An important clarification in the cause of the whole Church…
And, Pope Francis correctly deplores “ideological colonization,” but seems to his constructive critics to be too selective as to what constitutes ideology and what does not. The “backwardist” vs forwardist false dichotomy. In current history, the complexity and ambiguity (a new ideology?) of our world calls for broad “fraternity” and—equally (!)—for great clarity in things of the Faith—both doctrinal and moral, together.
The point well made at this time by the bishops all across continental Africa regarding Fiducia Supplicans.
And, about past history and clarifying distinctions, under the early secular German state (not the Church), colonial Namibia became the first genocide of the 20th Century. https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/herero-revolt-1904-1907 Wondering, now, about the secularist/ideological der Synodal Weg; after having colonized the “synod” in Rome, will they now endorse and complicate the request from the German Bishops Conference?
Oh, wait, from the Conference, who exactly initiated this well-merited and yet curiously-timed (?) request to continental Africa?