UCA Martyrs
It was 20 years ago today that 6 Jesuits, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter were killed at the University of Central America in San Salvador. I marked the anniversary at UCA with a delegation of students and faculty from my school.
Romero is also widely memorialized too, and the 4 American churchwomen who were also martyred. Most of all, we must remember the thousands and thousands of Salvadorans who were caught up in the horrors of that time, both those killed and those left with deeply painful memories of loved ones lost to the casual savagery of others.
As I ponder the UCA martyrs, though, I am brought back to what I imagine to have been the texture of their daily lives. Classes to teach, papers to grade, another faculty meeting, an essay overdue, laundry to do, a group to work with at a base commuity, another meal to cook for the community, and so on and so on. The small joys and hassles, the tiredness, the happinesses and the worries–not least the stark fear of violence–that made up their days. The massacre that ended their lives causes the rest of us to be silent and take note of the causes for which they lived. Their challenge, I think, is less that we each be willing to die for a cause, than that we live for one. In and through the daily stuff, the warp and woof of our lives, is the martyrs’ question:”Yes, and through it all, animating it all–with whom and for whom do you stand?” I am grateful for their question.
on November 17th, 2009 at 2:27 am
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
From Agenzia Fides — According to the information we have, in the decade 1980-1989, 115 missionaries died a violent death. However the number is certainly higher since it refers only to cases reported and confirmed.
In the period 1990-2000, according to our information, a total number of 604 missionaries were killed. The number is considerably higher than in the previous decade due to the following factors: the Rwandan genocide (1994) in which at least 248 members of church personnel were killed;, improved communications and quicker information from even remote parts of the world; the number includes besides missionaries ad gentes in the strict sense, pastoral workers who despite serious risk remained at their post to care for the people entrusted to them.
Between 2001-2008 a total number of 193 pastoral workers were killed.
And in 2008 alone, Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mossul for Chaldeans (Iraq), 16 priests, 1 religious, and 2 lay volunteers were slain.
on November 17th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Lisa,
‘Their challenge, I think, is less that we each be willing to die for a cause, than that we live for one. In and through the daily stuff, the warp and woof of our lives, is the martyrs’ question:”Yes, and through it all, animating it all–with whom and for whom do you stand?”’
Beautifully put. The martyrs’ question manages to be both deeply moving and troubling – as I suppose it was always intended to be.
I’m often reminded by the ending of the film The Mission, where the Jesuit missionaries are divided. The De Niro character chooses to gather the Indian willing to do so to fight force with force. The Jeremy Irons character is appalled and meets force with an army of the unarmed – mostly women and children behind him as he peacefully attempts to lead them through the battle, holding the crucifix/monstrance containing the blessed sacrament high before him.
Of course, both are killed within minutes of eachother and the Indians with them mowed down or taken into slavery. Both made choices – both were martyred for them.
Martyrdom doesn’t seem to depend upon our choices but on the response of others to those choices.
on November 17th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Thanks for this poignant reflection. I was hoping one of the contributors would start a thread about the anniversary of the UCA martyrs.
Though the political strife has largely subsided in El Salvador, the Salvadoran people continue to face many problems. The heavy rains, flooding, and landslides about 10 days ago caused “incalculable” damage, according to the Salvadoran president, and the loss of life was in the hundreds. The capital, San Salvador, was among the hardest hit areas. Perhaps Gene Palumbo, who lives in El Salvador, will have more to add about the UCA martyrs and about the latest challenge facing the Salvadoran people.
on November 17th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Dan nemes has a report at NCR today that’s worth reading,
I to owish Gene would offer his reflections on events there past and present.
on November 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
In the current NCR, Fr. Charles Currie, president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities also offers an excellent tribute.
Listen:
“It is fair to say that every Jesuit college and university has been changed by what happened in El salvador that night. The murders became an inspiration for greater solidarity between the Americas, Northj and Southm, including more and more immersion experiences for students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni.Jesuit schools have taken more seriously their commitment to a faith that does justice.”
I cannot help but think how good it would have been if Cardinal George had paid tribute to the event instead of wondering how he and his colleagues could tighten their control of the acedmic scene.
In the same NCR there’s a fine piece by Fr. Ray Schroth on the scene at St. Peter’s and his reflections on teaching today.
All this indicates to me is how wide the gulf is between man yhierachs in their own little world and the world of education and how the faith is spread.