The Vatican announced on Wednesday that it would set up a commission to investigate the Christian martyrs who died as martyrs in the third millennium and to count the martyrs.

In a letter published on July 5, Pope Francis disclosed that he had created the "New Martyrs - Witness to the Faith Committee" within the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

According to the Pope's statement, the task of the commission will be to compile an archive of the lives of Catholic and non-Catholic Christian martyrs who have been murdered in the last quarter of a century.

Pope Francis noted that he will not amend the canonical regulations regarding the formal recognition of martyrdom in the Catholic Church, but he wants the testimony of those killed for their Christian faith "to be added to those of martyrs officially recognized by the Church."

"As I have mentioned many times", he wrote, "there are more martyrs in our time than in previous centuries: bishops, priests, ordained men and women, lay persons and families, who in different countries of the world, by giving and sacrificing their lives, are the highest degree of love they gave their testimony".

The Pope said that he called the commission in light of the Church's 2025 jubilee year, which will focus on the theme of hope.

"Hope keeps alive the deep conviction that good is stronger than evil, because God has conquered sin and death in Christ"

the pope explained.

Pope Francis also reminded St. II. Pope John Paul II also established a similar commission regarding the new martyrs in the Great Holy Year of 2000.

The former commission, which counted 13,000 male and female martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Christ in the 20th century, shared some stories during an ecumenical prayer service at the Colosseum on May 7, 2000.

Pope Francis stated that a similar event will take place in the jubilee year of 2025 so that the faithful will remember what he called the "ecumenism of blood".

"Even in our time, when we are witnessing a change of era, Christians, in the midst of great risks, continue to show the power of baptism that unites us"

said the pope.

He noted that many Christians, even though they are aware that their lives are at risk, live their faith openly and attend the Sunday liturgy; others were murdered in their charitable service to the poor; still others lost their lives as "silent victims" in violent conflicts.

"To each of them we owe a great debt and cannot forget them"

- emphasized the Pope.

Pope Francis II He referred to Pope John Paul II's 1994 apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, according to which "everything must be done to ensure that the legacy of the army of "unknown soldiers" fighting for the great cause of God is not lost."

"In a world where sometimes it seems that evil is winning," he said, "I am sure that the development of this catalog, also in connection with the jubilee year that is now coming, will help the faithful to see our time in the light of Easter look at it and take out from the treasure chest of generous loyalty to Christ motives that encourage life and goodness."

The new committee is chaired by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and Archbishop Fabio Fabene, secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Andrea Riccardi, the founder of the Szent Egyed Community, is the vice-president of the committee, and the secretary is Father Marco Gnavi, the parish priest of the Church of Mary beyond the Tiber and the secretary of the 2000 committee.

The members of the committee are: Father Dominique Arnauld, missionary in Africa; Father Kokou Mawuena Ambroise Atakpa; Sister Nadia Coppa, General of the Venerables of the Holy Blood; Professors Gianni La Bella, Maria Lupi and P. Roberto Regoli; Franciscan Father Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen; Deacon Didier Rance and Jesuit Father General Arturo Sosa Abascal.

Author: Hannah Brockhaus
Translated by: Forgács Hajnalka/ katolikus.ma
Source: catholicnewsagency.com