Catholic group publishes book honoring seven Anglican martyrs killed in Oceania
2013-04-01 16:00:00
April 1, 2013. (ROMEREPORTS.COM) It has now been ten years since ethnic strife between two groups in the Solomon Islands ended the life of seven young members of the Melanesian Brotherhood.
The Anglican missionaries were killed during attempts to start dialogue between the two warring groups in the Pacific nation. Their story is depicted inside 215 pages of the book Racconti di Pace in Oceania, The Story of Peace.
“People think you're protected by prayer, or that you're gonna live charmed lives, but working for peace puts your life at risk.”
The presentation of the book written by author Monica Attias, a member of the Community of St. Egidio, took place within the Basilica of Saint Bartholomew, the heart of Catholic-Anglican ties in Rome.
http://www.romereports.com/palio/catholic-group-publishes-book-honoring-seven-anglican-martyrs-killed-in-oceania-english-9651.html
Background from wiki:
Peace-making
During the "ethnic tension" of 1999-2000 in the Solomon Islands, the Brotherhood participated in peace-making efforts which led to a ceasefire and to the Townsville Peace Agreement of October 2000. They then gathered weapons from combatants and discarded them at sea.
One rebel leader, Harold Keke, did not comply with the agreement and continued to cause trouble. Brother Nathaniel Sado, who knew Keke, went to reason with him, but did not return. On 2003-04-23, six brothers went to investigate reports that Keke had murdered Br. Nathaniel, and they did not return either. Scanty reports indicated that Keke was holding them hostage, but on 2003-08-08, the Police Commissioner was able to inform the Brotherhood that all six were dead. Keke and his men surrendered several days later, and the bodies of the seven brothers were exhumed and brought back to Honiara for autopsy. Br. Nathaniel had been tortured for several days before dying, three of the others had been shot on arrival and the remaining three had been tortured and shot the next day. The bodies were interred at Tabalia on 2003-10-24.
On 2004-02-20, Prime Minister of Fiji, Laisenia Qarase presented the Brotherhood with the first prize in the regional category of the 4th Pacific Human Rights Awards "for its sacrifice above the call of duty to protect the vulnerable and build peace and security in Solomon Islands during the civil conflict and post-conflict reconstruction".
On 2008-08-03, the seven martyred members of the Anglican Melanesian Brotherhood were honoured during the concluding Mass of the Lambeth Conference, at Canterbury Cathedral. Their names were added to the book of contemporary martyrs and placed, along with an icon on the altar of the Chapel of Saints of Our Times. When the Eucharist was over, bishops and others came to pray in front of the small altar in the chapel. Now their icon stands at the Cathedral as a reminder of their witness to peace and of the multi-ethnic character of Global Anglicanism."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanesian_BrotherhoodThe Community of St. Egidio, mentioned in the aticle, is a relatively new lay organization in the Catholic Church focused on peace-making.
http://www.santegidio.org/index.php?&idLng=1064
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