SANTORO’S FAMILY: WE FORGIVE WITH ALL OUR HEARTS
AyªE Karabat Trabzon
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 6 2007
A memorial Mass was celebrated by the head of Italy’s bishops on
Monday for a Catholic priest slain in Turkey at the time of widespread
anger in the Islamic world over the publication of caricatures of
the Prophet Muhammad.
A 16-year-old youth is serving an 18-year prison sentence for the
murder, which was believed to be linked to the outrage over the
publication of the caricatures in European newspapers.
"I hope this service will help deepen our friendship," Cardinal
Camillo Ruini, accompanied by Santoro’s mother and two sisters, told
reporters upon his arrival in Trabzon. "I hope it will help us find
the truth and bring us closer to God," added Ruini.
Maddelana Santoro, the sister of the deceased Father Santoro — a
theology teacher — said that she and her family forgave the killer
with all their hearts and that they still believe in interfaith
dialogue, as did their brother.
In an exclusive interview she gave to Today’s Zaman in the small
and simply decorated working room of Santoro that is adjoined to the
Santa Maria Church where he was killed, Maddelana Santoro said their
brother was very happy to be in Turkey.
"He loved beauty. That’s why he was so happy to stay in Turkey. It
was his decision. From a religious point of view, these are holy
lands. They are the lands of belief; Prophet Abraham was born in this
land and God gave his mission to him here. The Apostles were also in
Anatolia. They came to these holy lands first and announced the New
Testament here. These lands were the center for Christianity before
the message spread to Europe."
She said she visited her brother with 10 of her friends in September
of 2005. She added that Santoro took them to churches on the Aegean
coast and then to the mosques in Trabzon because he believed in
interfaith dialogue.
"While he was here, he used to speak about dialogue between religions
and talked about love and that he was trying to live according to these
ideals. He told us that if you act like sheep, then the people will
approach in an innocent way; if you stay pure and peaceful, people
will love you. He liked to live among people because he believed that
Jesus would carry love to people through his body."
When asked about the wars going on due to conflicts over religion,
she said that this was because people had lost their beliefs.
"People should return back to their beliefs because lack of belief is
replaced by hostility and animosity. This is the main reason behind
all these evil events that we are witnessing. Freedom is the biggest
gift that God has given humanity. But the bases of freedom should come
from love and respect. This must be the starting point. Nothing can
be done by force. As my brother always said, ‘Life is a road and the
human being is walking on this road in order to develop himself.’
This applies to all of us. Eastern and Western countries should
walk together. They need to take this long road throughout life —
we still have a long road ahead of us."
She said that when she heard about the murder of Hrant Dink, she
prayed and wished that one day everybody in Turkey would be able to
voice their ideas in love and respect; everybody should have freedom
of expression. She said that she would always remember her brother
as a person who was enthusiastic and willing to share love. She added
that they never felt any hostility toward anyone following his death.
"We are a religious family. We know the New Testament. Before Jesus
died, he said ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’"
When asked if she had forgiven the killer, she replied: "Yes. Yes. My
family and I have forgiven with all our hearts."
Violence against Christians Trabzon, on Turkey’s eastern Black Sea
coast, has come under intense scrutiny following the killing of
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink last month. Dink spoke out about the
mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century, drawing the
wrath of nationalists.
Prosecutors have charged eight people in connection with the killing,
including a teenage gunman and an alleged instigator, who, like
Santoro’s killer, were from Trabzon.
Pope Benedict XVI remembered Santoro — who worked toward interfaith
dialogue between Christians and Muslims — during his visit to Turkey
in November of 2006.
Santoro’s killing was one of the many recent attacks against Christians
in this predominantly Muslim country. Two other Catholic priests were
attacked last year in Turkey, where Christians have often voiced that
they are of victims of discrimination and persecution.
A group of young men attacked and threatened a Catholic priest in
the Aegean port city of Izmir. The priest, a Slovenian, told Italian
state TV at the time that the men grabbed him by the throat, threw
him into a garden and threatened to kill him.
A French priest, Pierre Brunissen, 74, suffered a hip and leg injury
when a man stabbed him. The attack took place in the Black Sea port
city of Samsun.
Of Turkey’s 70 million people, some 65,000 are Armenian Orthodox
Christians, 20,000 are Roman Catholic, and 3,500 are Protestants.
Around 2,000 are Greek Orthodox while 23,000 are Jewish.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
