Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pope on Holy Thursday: bearing witness to God's love, a priest is martyred in Turkey

To quote Tertullian from Apologeticus, 50, "Plures efficimur, quoties metumur a vobis; semen est sanguis christianorum," which can be translated as "We multiply whenever we are mown down by you; the blood of Christians is seed."

A better known paraphrase of Tertullian is this: out of "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Thanks be to God we know that His priest's sacrifice is not in vain.

Examiner.com

Pope Honors Priest Shot to Death in Turkey

By NICOLE WINFIELD, The Associated Press
Apr 13, 2006 10:15 AM (2 hrs 3 mins ago)

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI recalled the sacrifice of a cleric slain in Turkey as the pontiff on Thursday celebrated a Holy Week Mass dedicated to priests.

In his homily, Benedict read a letter written by the Rev. Andrea Santoro in which the Italian prelate spoke of his willingness to offer his own body for the sake of preaching Catholicism in largely Muslim Turkey.

Santoro, 60, was shot and killed Feb. 5 while he prayed in his parish in the Black Sea city of Trabzon. Witnesses said the killer, a 16-year-old boy, screamed "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is great," before firing two bullets into Santoro's back.

Benedict quoted Santoro as saying in his letter that he had chosen to live in Turkey to be among its people, "lending" his body to Christ to do so.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 12:24 PM