Eco-martyrs

There is a place, in Rome, where any pilgrim of the current jubilee should go. It is the Saint-Barthélemy-en-l’île basilica, located not far from Trastevere and the old Jewish quarter. In 2000, Pope John Paul II proposed to make this place the sanctuary dedicated to contemporary martyrs of Christianity. Objects and relics evoking a number of them can be revered there.

Those of South America are particularly represented there. The figure of Oscar Romero, bishop of San Salvador, shot dead in his church in 1980, for example.

A few days ago, it was the relics of a North American nun that was deposited there. Her name was Dorothy Stang and was a member of the Congregation of Notre-Dame-de-Namur. Arriving in Brazil in 1966, she quickly entered the defense of the poorest in the face of the large landowners of the Para region. Twenty years ago, February 12, she was murdered with a bullet in the back, one in the belly and four in the head. Brazilian justice will ultimately condemn a cattle breeder and three other people, hired killers. The deforestation of the Amazon to produce meat is still paid at this price, that of the blood of these “eco-martyrs”. This jubilee must also remind us.