At least 28 pastoral care workers killed in 2016

St Stephen arrested - Giotto

In the year 2016, 28 Catholic pastoral care workers were killed worldwide. In 2016, 14 priests, nine religious sisters, one seminarian, and four lay people died violently.

For the eighth consecutive year, the most dangerous place for pastoral care workers was America, where 12 pastoral care workers were killed (nine priests and three religious sisters). In Africa, eight pastoral care workers were killed (three priests, two nuns, one seminarian and two lay people); in Asia seven pastoral care workers were killed (one priest, four nuns and two lay people); in Europe one priest was killed.

Once again the majority of the pastoral care workers in 2016 were killed in attempted robberies. Many who survived attacks were also injured.

Many of the priests, religious sisters and lay people who were killed, were among those who loudly denounced injustice, corruption, poverty, in the name of the Gospel.

Fr José Luis Sánchez Ruiz, of the Diocese of San Andres Tuxtla, in Veracruz, Mexico, was kidnapped and then released with 'obvious signs of torture,' according to a statement from the diocese. In the days before the kidnapping he had received threats, surely for his harsh criticism against corruption and rampant crime.

As Pope Francis recalled on the feast of the first martyr, St Stephen, "the world hates Christians for the same reason it hated Jesus, because He brought the light of God and the world prefers the darkness to hide its wicked works" (Angelus 26/12/2016).

All the victims lived in these human and social contexts, administering the sacraments, helping the poor, taking care of orphans and drug addicts, following development projects or simply opening the door of their home to anyone. And some were murdered by the same people who they helped. Hardly any investigations conducted by the local authorities lead to identifying the perpetrators and the instigators of these killings or the reasons why they were carried out.

There is still great concern regarding the fate of other pastoral care workers who have been kidnapped or have disappeared.

The list, complied by Fides, does not only include missionaries ad gentes in the strict sense, but all pastoral care workers who died violent deaths.

In a statement Fides says it does not use the term 'martyrs' since it is up to the Church to judge their possible merits and also because of the scarsity of available information in most cases, with regard to their life and even the circumstances of their death.

The agency says: "The provisional list compiled annually by Fides, must therefore be added to the long list of many of whom there may never be news, who in every corner of the world suffer and even pay with their lives for their faith in Christ. Pope Francis often reminds us that 'Today there are Christians who are murdered, tortured, imprisoned, slaughtered because they do not deny Jesus Christ.

The martyrs of today are more numerous than those of the first centuries."

Source: Fides