Amy Welborn directs us to a Spero News article about missionaries who suffered violent deaths in the line of duty in the past year. At least 24 priests, religious, and lay missionaries were killed while working for the Kingdom of God.
The article is careful to note that
the document does "not intentionally use the word ‘martyrs'" so as not to anticipate in any way the judgement of the Vatican as to their eventual beatification or canonization as saints.
The article also says that this is only a fraction of the total number who gave their lives for the Gospel in 2006, remembering:
the thousands of other Christians around the world who, while their names may be unrecorded, nevertheless gave their lives as testimonials to the Faith. Catholic and non-Catholic Christians have been assaulted and murdered in places like Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Pakistan, and the Sudan.
One of the most-ignored news stories of the war in Iraq is the persecution against Christians unleashed since the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Over a million Christians have fled Iraq, and many have died at the hands of Muslims.
Please remember to pray for our brothers in Christ suffering in Iraq and throughout the world.
