Witnesses to the Faith

From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:

May 8, 2025

As the conclave has concluded with the election of Pope Leo XIV, in addition to intensifying our prayer life and prayers for the new Pope, we might beg God to make us faithful witnesses of the resurrection. If you're wondering what shape that witness might take, you would do well to look to a new book by Robert Royal, The Martyrs of the New Millennium: The Global Persecution of Christians in the 21st Century (Sophia Institute Press, 2025). Royal, a prolific author and president of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, DC, is also known to many as one of the “papal posse” on EWTN. In readily accessible prose, Royal accurately informs the reader of the innumerable members of the Body of Christ: priests, religious, and lay people, who have suffered all forms of persecution in the first quarter of this century. Though often ignored by the media, international humanitarian organizations, and governments, this book gives a voice to the thousands upon thousands of martyrs and confessors who have suffered persecution, violence, and death throughout the world in our day.  

This riveting volume is a worthy sequel of his earlier work, The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century: A Comprehensive World History (Crossroad Publishing, 2006), a wide-ranging history of some of the approximately one million Christians who gave their lives for the Christian Faith during the last century. Pope St. John Paul II had called for the recognition of the “new martyrs” in preparation for the Great Jubilee of 2000. With these volumes, Professor Royal continues to respond to that call, thus enriching us with the stories of those who are modern exemplars, often at the cost of their lives, to Christ and His resurrection.

The earlier work focused on the suffering of Christians under the communist and fascist regimes of the last century. The new volume draws our attention to the more recent persecutions of Christians by Islamist regimes and terrorist groups in regions of Africa and Asia and to drug cartels wreaking havoc in places like Mexico, which, according to Royal, is now one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Catholic priest. The first book drew primarily on scholarly sources and archives. The new publication, naturally, is derived from front-line sources and the few international organizations, like Aid to the Church in Need, which chronicles contemporary religious persecution.

In order to become a faithful witness, it is helpful to hold before our eyes (and hearts!), the example of those who have given such witness. These books will surely assist any sincere disciple of the Lord Jesus in doing that.