Origen rightly explained: “He who gives witness to the truth, whether in words or acts, has the right to be called a martyr, but among the brothers, led by his love to those who fought to the death, the custom of call to martyrs refers to those who testified in favor of the mystery of piety with the effusion of their blood “.
The Church, in the following of Christ, not only has martyrs, but it is a Church of martyrs. Jesus of Nazareth is situated in that martyrial tradition. Martyrdom belongs to the true concept of the Church. This must not only keep a doctrinal fidelity, but mainly a purpose of life with Jesus, who suffered persecution and martyrdom.
The Uganda Martyrs are great founders of the Christian Faith in Uganda of which they Follow-Up and Participated. In his preaching, Jesus collected the main elements of martyrdom: “You will be hated by all because of my name … They will take you to the governors and kings for my sake … The disciple is not only the teacher …” (cf- Mt 10,17-36). Following Christ, as a privileged expression of the Christian faith, implies participating in his life and sharing his destiny. This was well understood by the Uganda martyrs, who like the apostles, gave testimony of Jesus as the only Lord and God. They committed thus a crime of less majesty against the Kabaka, by denying him the divine character.
Today, an increasingly numerous groups of Christians display directly political behavior, mainly in Uganda, whose origin is found in the faith and in the Gospel. There are many Christians (cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay people) who, because of the Gospel, have opted preferentially for the poor, for their liberation, for the defense of their rights. In the name of this option, they announce and denounce the forms of social domination and dehumanization. They can be persecuted, kidnapped, tortured and killed. They are also martyrs in the strict sense of the Word.
In these cases, the odium fidei is also given. Hate not just faith, but this kind of liberating faith and praxis that is inspired by the passion for God and for the poor whom God loves. It is not usual to hate Christians for being so. They are persecuted and hated because they engage in a process of liberation and confess that this commitment is born of the living of the gospel and prayer. This connection is the one that is rejected and causes the sacrifice of life for martyrdom.
St. Thomas, when considering the question of whether it is martyrdom to die for the republic, said with theological wisdom: “The human good can become divine if it refers to God, so any human good can be a cause of martyrdom if it refers to God. This is exactly the case of many Christians who are committed to the liberation of their brothers and sisters, and who refer their behavior to God and to the following of Jesus Christ. They are no less martyrs than those who confessed in a Roman court, with courage and pride, Christians accepted death jovially.
The Uganda Martyrs were martyrs for the Kingdom of God, that is to say, the Politics of God. It dies not only in the name of explicit Christian faith, only by conduct derived from faith. There are many who give their existence in social change processes, aimed at greater participation and justice for all. Victorious revolutions celebrate their heroes and martyrs who fell in defense of the humble or who were victims in the costly process of liberation.
They constitute important points of reference that encourage the revolutionary spirit or the construction of the new society. They chose the most difficult and possess a dignity, independently of any religious reference. However, it is worth asking: what is the theological value of these political martyrs? Is it accurate to call them martyrs? We believe that, with theological accuracy, they can be called, truly and not with euphemism, martyrs.
Martyrdom as a Sacramental Value
Martyrdom undeniably possesses an eminent sign function (sacrament). In the first place, it contains a high anthropological significance. What gives dignity to existence is not the focus on oneself, but the decentering and structuring of existence in favor of others. The martyr brings to radicalism the dynamics of life: the total surrender to the other as a donation of one’s life. This gesture undoubtedly raises the problem of absolute value.
Normally, life is conceived as the supreme value. With the sacrifice of life for martyrdom is aimed at something higher than life itself. In other words: life is ordered to something greater and more worthy. Is it the other? Is it society? The Christian faith speaks of God; the other and society, for whose sake someone sacrifices themselves, qualitatively prolong the same sphere of life; that is why they are not adequately the supreme value of life: the other and society are sacraments of God, the true name of the supreme meaning of life and history. Therefore, the Uganda martyrs, because of their courageous gesture, become a sacrament of truth.
Martyrdom is possible today because there are people who prefer to sacrifice their lives. For the martyr, not everything is valid; there can be situations in which the conscience demands to accept the persecution and the sacrifice of the life in testimony of the truth. Secondly, martyrdom is possible because there are people or instances that reject the announcement and denunciation; they persecute, torture and kill. This fact reveals that in history, there is still a decadent situation. Truth, justice and God himself are not transparent nor do they alone govern the relationships between people and societies.
There may be mechanisms of domination and lying that involve the denial of God. In such circumstances, the affirmation of God, of truth and justice can only be maintained, without treason and sin, in the form of persecution and martyrdom.
Finally, the martyr is an effective sacrament, a producer of truth for the Church. The Church has martyrs, who are its glory. But whenever a Christian, by following Christ, commits himself in such a way that he is led to martyrdom, he produces credibility for the Church.
Moreover, it produces ecclesial substance, in the sense that a Church is only the Church of Christ insofar as it is willing to live in a way that it considers normal to participate in the same destiny of the martyr Jesus Christ. The martyr proclaims the truth of the Church of Christ and manifests the holiness of God communicated to the Church. The Church is holy because of its saints.
By Fr. Robert Nsinga MCCJ
