Catholic World News News Feature

Fides Lists 30 Missionaries Slain in 2000 January 02, 2001

ROME, Jan. 2, 01 (FIDES/CWNews.com) -- The Fides news service, which is dedicated especially to the Church's missionary work, has begun the new year by listing the 30 missionaries who gave their lives for the faith in 2000.

In an editorial accompanying the list, Father Bernardo Cervellera, the director of Fides, observes that the list spans the globe, includes the victims of both religious bigots and roving bandits, and shows the deadly effects of "globalized conniving." He points to" "Africa with its bandits and diseases is aided by a West only interested in the continent’s raw materials; Muslim fundamentalism in the Philippines and India are also the result of government without justice, a fruit of the world’s indifference to religious freedom."

However, Father Cervellera quickly adds: "For Christians in fact the death of our martyred brothers and sisters shows that even in the most cancer- ridden, seemingly hopeless situations, there are people who work, who live and who die. This martyrdom will bear seed even for international politics visibly defeated and helpless."

The Fides director also points out that the agency's list is incomplete, since it does not account for the Christians who died anonymously in the Molluccan islands of Indonesia, in southern Sudan, in Rwanda, and in the prisons of China. The Fides lists includes only those missionary workers whose deaths have already been made known to the world. They are:

- Yosef Jami, a Divine Word seminarian, who died at Ende, Indonesia, on January 1, 2000. - Father Jose Flores Gaytan, who died at Torreon, Mexico, on January 17. - Sister Odette Simba Abakumate, a Sister of Charity of Jesus and Mary from the Congo, who died at Bambari, Central Africa, on February 5. - Father Remis Pepe, who died at Kiliba, Democratic Republic of Congo, on February 15. - Sister Christine Sequeira, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary, who died at Karachi, Pakistan, on March 16. - Father Hugo Duque, who died in Supia, Colombia, on March 27. - Jose da Rocha Dias, a seminarian who died in Cunene, Angola, on March 29. - Father Ruel Gallardo, a Claretian who died at Basilan, Philippines, on May 2. - Father Joaquin Bernardo, a Spanish Dominican who died at Tirana, Albania, on May 7. - Father Pascal Nzikobanyanka, who died at Buhoro, Burundi, on May 14. - Father Clement Ozi Bello, who died at Kawo, Nigeria, on May 23. - Claude Gustave Amzati, a seminarian who died at Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 31. - Father George Kuzhikandom, a Franciscan who died at Uttar Pradesh, India, on June 6. - Father Isidro Uzcudum, a Spanish priest of Fidei Donum, who died at Mugina, Rwanda, on June 10. - Father Remis Karketta, a Jesuit who died at Bihan, India, on July 12. - Father Victor Crasta, a Holy Cross priest, who died at Balukcherra-Tripura, India, on July 25. - Father Anthony Kaiser, an American Mill Hill Missionary, who died at Naivasha, Kenya, on August 24. - Father Jude Maria Ogbu, a Discalced Carmelite, who died at Ekpoma, Nigeria, in September (exact date uncertain). - Father Raffaele di Bari, an Italian Comboni missionary, who died at Pajule, Uganda, on October 1. - Father Antonio Bargiggia, and Italian Brother of the Poor, who died at Kibimba, Burundi, on October 3. - Sister Floriana Tirelli, an Italian Sister of St. John the Baptist, who died at Solwezi, Zambia, on October 7. - Sister Gina Simionato, an Italian Sister of St. Dorothy, who died at Gihiza, Burundi, on October 15. - Father Arnoldo Gomez Ramirez, a Yarumel missionary, who died at Buenaventura, Colombia, on October 17. - Father Howard Rochester, who died at Hartland, Jamaica, on October 28. - Sister Pierina Asienzo and Sister Dorothy Akweyo, Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate, who died at Gulu, Uganda, on November 5. - Father Regis Grance, a French Sacred Heart missionary, who died at Man, Ivory Coast, on November 11. - Grace Akullu, a volunteer nurse, who died at Gulu, Uganda, on November 17. - Father Shajan Jacob Chittinapilly, who died a Manipur, India, on December 2. - Father Benjamin Inocencio, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, who died at Jolo, Philippines, on December 28.