In a tweet this week, former Catholic blogger Steve Skojec launched a criticism, to put it mildly of Mike Lewis, editor of Where Peter Is.
The two characters are comically similar in their internet personas, but we will not get into that.
One of Skojec’s comments was particularly interesting.
He wrote:
'Historical Catholicism produced martyrs. Modern Catholicism produces lapsed Catholics and atheists'
We engaged him in order to inform him that there are more martyrs in the modern period (however you define Modernity) than at any other point in the church’s history.
He did not seem particularly interested in discussion, but the point still stands, we are living in a greater age of martyrdom now.
Some statistics according to Open Doors:
360 million Christians suffer high levels of discrimination
15 Christians are killed for their faith each day
1 in 7 Christians now experience at least ‘high’ levels of persecution or discrimination; with 1 in 5 in Africa, 2 in 5 in Asia, and 1 in 15 in Latin America.
10 Christians are abducted everyday
The total number of Christians detained for their faith increased from 2,813 registered cases (WWL 2021) to 4,765 (WWL 2022)—an increase of 69%.
The total number of churches and other Christian buildings attacked in differing forms of severity, increased from 4,488 registered cases (WWL 2021) to 5,110 (WWL 2022)—an increase of 14%.
Registered cases of forced marriages of Christians to non-Christians numbered 1,588 though, once again, these kinds of numbers are extremely difficult to get.
Almost 25,000 (24,678) cases of Christians who have been otherwise physically or mentally abused for faith-related reasons (including beatings and death threats) were recorded though the actual number is likely to be much higher.
Because of violence but also pressure (especially converts forced to leave their homes and communities), the registered cases of Christians forced to leave their homes or go into hiding inside the country for faith-related reasons was 218,709. However, many more Christians likely became Internally displaced persons (IDPs). In Myanmar alone, there were 200,000.
Only in the past month, there have been priests kidnaped in Nigeria, arrested for opposing Hindu nationalism in India, where two girls were raped and paraded by Hindus also while Christians in Israel face daily attacks that involve being spat at, stabbed and threatened within their churches.
In the past decade we have seen men such as Father Jacques Hamel beheaded while saying Mass (the new Mass no less), individuals such as Sister Clare Crockett giving their lives to protect others and the Libyan Martyrs beheaded for Christ on a lonely beach.
As Bishop Rolando Alvarez remains imprisoned in Nicaragua (refusing a deal that would see him released if he abandoned his flock), Father Fidelis Moscinski CFR is in a New York jail and Cardinal Zen lives daily with the persecution of Communist China, we can only dismiss the claim that the age of martyrdom has passed.
From Spain to Armenia, Mexico to Ireland, China to Nigeria, the past century has produced martyrs in a higher volume than any other age from the past.
Uniting with them in prayer might be a fast way to avoid despair at our own boredom.
Historical Catholicism produced Martin Luther and Maximilian Robespierre, Modern Catholicism produced Bishop Alvarez.
