MARTYRS

The Magisterium of the Church defines a martyr as a person who bears witness to their faith, to the point of offering their own life. Therefore, in this era of environmental collapse, we can affirm that a person killed for defending Creation — by virtue of their faith — can also be recognized as a martyr. We can call them “martyrs of Creation,” a term that honors numerous Christian peasant, indigenous, environmentalist, and community leaders.

WHAT IT MEANS

• The assault on community territories, especially in the Global South and in so-called “sacrifice zones,” is increasing greatly, due to land grabbing, the expansion of monoculture, the extraction of critical minerals for the energy transition, etc.
• Communities defend their territories as a space of organized life, an expression of their culture, the ancestral memory of those who have inhabited them, and a commitment to future generations.
• In many cases, the defense of territories is motivated by the fidelity of individuals and communities to the Word of God and to the Magisterium of the Church, in active listening to the cry of the poor and of the earth.
• Often, the victims are not only individual persons. There is not only an individual perspective of martyrdom, but also a collective dimension, which includes martyr communities and martyr territories.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

• Large extractive projects, state interests, and private militias hired to defend the interests of these power groups against local communities cause murders, criminalization of dissent, threats and intimidation, smear campaigns and accusations of terrorism, expulsion from territories, collective repression.
• In recent years, the guarantee of human rights and the protection of those who defend them have been seriously weakened. Authoritarian practices and violent conflicts have increased worldwide, with heavy cuts to human rights funding.

WHY IT CONCERNS RELIGIOUS LIFE

• Often, Religious Life is the presence of the Church closest and most supportive of communities in contexts of territorial conflict. Threatened people rely greatly on the protection that our Religious Life can guarantee.
• The encyclical Laudato si’ challenges Christians and all people who inhabit this planet to promote a culture of care and defense of the common home, and says that “social life ends up setting us against one another in defense of our own interests, provoking the emergence of new forms of violence and cruelty” (LS 229).
• The Synod for the Amazon, for example, calls attention to the value of religious life and faith in defense of Creation, commemorates the martyrs, and “recognizes with admiration those who struggle, putting their own lives at grave risk, to defend the existence of this territory.” (Final Document, no. 16)

A GOSPEL CALL TODAY

As Fr. Lele Ramin (a Comboni missionary killed in Cacoal on July 24, 1985) used to say, by virtue of our evangelical consecration: “Brother, if my life belongs to you, my death will belong to you too.” We keep the memory of the martyrs alive and commit ourselves to social and environmental justice, so that it may never again happen that people or communities must give their lives in defense of people and of the Common Home.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCERNMENT

• How can we celebrate the memory of the martyrs today in the light of integral ecology?
• How can we challenge the Church to draw closer to threatened communities and individuals, avoiding omission or — even worse — complicity?
• If the blood of martyrs is a seed for new Christians, what is the Holy Spirit saying to us today, in the manifestation of so many martyrs in defense of the Common Home?

REMEMBER:

“The Church must give priority to communities affected by socio-environmental damage. (…) The defense of the indigenous peoples of the continent is intrinsically linked to faith in Jesus Christ and His Good News; today we must form pastoral workers and ordained ministers who possess a socio-environmental sensitivity” (Final Document of the Synod for the Amazon, no. 75).

ESSENTIAL REFERENCES

= Address of the Holy Father Leo XIV to the participants in the Study Conference promoted by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints (2026).

= Document “Mártires de la Criación,” of the Latin American ecumenical network Iglesias y Minería.

= Czerny, M., The Church and pastoral theology in conflicts over natural resources – The case of Juan Antonio López (2026).

= Synod for the Amazon, Final Document (2019).

= Pope Francis, Querida Amazonía (2020).

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES

= Campaign “La vida pende de un hilo” (“Life hangs by a thread,” a proposal of the Latin American Episcopal Council in defense of communities and individuals threatened by socio-environmental conflicts)

= https://africandefenders.org – Pan-African Network of Human Rights Defenders

ORIENTATION FOR COMMITMENT

Religious life communities can undertake various initiatives in defense of territories and socio-environmental defenders. They can also stimulate the Church and all of society in this direction. We suggest the following possible operational steps:

1. Prophetic denunciation: communicate, disseminate, and document cases, promoting solidarity responses in support of victims.
2. Individual and community prayer: organize days of prayer for the families and communities of victims, remembering them by name. Pray for the safety and courage of journalists and environmental activists, for the repentance and transformation needed among individuals, governments, and companies that act as aggressors…
3. Moments of reflection and study to raise awareness, improve our organization, and foster solidarity.
4. Ecclesial and ecological conversion: encourage our dioceses, parishes, and institutions to change their lifestyle and make a strong commitment to defending the Common Home, in the name of the martyrs who give their lives for this.
5. Community organization and vigilance: strengthen community organizations that defend territories. Always listen to the victims, whom the powerful prefer to ignore.
6. Campaigns that give visibility to those who resist and care for life, such as the campaign “Life hangs by a thread” (an initiative of the Platform for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights and the Commission for Integral Ecology of Latin America).