c. 1996 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) After seven kidnapped French Roman Catholic monks were reported slain by rebels in Algeria in May, their superiors in the Trappist order headed to the strife-torn nation to arrange their burial. A grisly discovery awaited them: The killers had returned only the severed heads of their victims.
But despite the brutality of that discovery, a document has come to light that adds a new dimension to their brothers’ deaths: A final testament written by the abbot of the Atlas Monastery, Dom Christian de Cherge. The message he left seems to provide a paradigm for a new kind of martyrdom in the 20th century, and a new ideal of interfaith harmony.
Knowing that the militants attempting to establish an Islamic government were targeting foreigners, de Cherge had written the testament more than two years ago to affirm his admiration for the Algerian people and his belief that Muslims and Christians could live in harmony.”I don’t see … how I could rejoice if the people I love were indiscriminately accused of my murder,”he wrote.”It would be too high a price to pay for what will be called, perhaps, `the grace of martyrdom,’ to owe this to an Algerian … especially if he says he is acting in fidelity to what he believes to be Islam.” De Cherge even extended friendship to his future murderer, writing,”my last-minute friend, who will not know what you are doingâÂ?¦ may we find each other, happy `good thieves’ in Paradise, if it please God, the Father of us both.” De Cherge’s testament, which has been widely circulated in Algeria and Europe, offers hope for reconciliation in the strife-torn African nation, said the Rev. Armand Veilleux, procurator general of the Trappist order.”Through their death, the dialogue between Christianity and Islam has entered a completely new phase,”Veilleux said in an interview.”In Algeria, almost everybody was shocked and saddened”by the murders.
Such a reconciliation will not come easily. The conflict flared again Aug. 1 when French Bishop Pierre Claverie, who was stationed at an Algerian diocese, was killed with his driver as they were returning from a ceremony honoring the slain monks.
Claverie had vowed to remain in his Algerian diocese after the monks’ slayings despite the hostility of groups seeking to establish a strict Islamic state.”To leave would be to give credence to those who want to separate communities,”Claverie had said.
The deaths of the monks and the bishop also put a new twist on the”grace of martyrdom.” While early Christians were slain for refusing to renounce their faith, and later missionaries for preaching Christianity in hostile territory, the monks were noted for their strong ties to their Muslim neighbors and were viewed as dying for a relatively new ideal: harmony between different faiths.”These monks are true martyrs of interreligious dialogue,”the Rev. James Conner, a Trappist abbot of Assumption Abbey in Ava., Mo., wrote in an editorial in the Bulletin of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue.
The murders have received only passing news coverage in the United States. But the incident shocked those involved in ecumenical activities in America, where such efforts seldom exact so extreme a price.
The American Muslim Council, in a statement, said the monks'”silent and humble way of life gave testimony to their peaceful relations”with their Algerian neighbors.”Islamic teachings prohibit attacks against innocent civilians and extend protection to sincere people of God _ whether they be Muslims or non-Muslims.” Up to 60,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Algeria’s four-year civil conflict, the vast majority Algerian. Militants have killed everyone from moderate Islamic leaders to people drinking alcohol and bikini-clad women. French nationals have been targeted both because of France’s tacit support for the government and because of the traditional role French missionaries have played in Algeria. Many Algerians also fear violence from the army, said Veilleux. The Trappists, by sharing in the turmoil,”are one with our Muslim brothers,”he said.
Their deaths”serve as a poignant reminder to all of us that interreligious dialogue can be a very serious affair”and the effort requires”perhaps even the commitment of one’s life,”Conner wrote.
Added Veilleux:”I think we are in another period, and there is another conception of evangelization.” Citing Vatican documents calling for interfaith dialogue, he said:”Evangelization does not mean conversion. It means proposing the message, and the best way of proposing the message is dialogue, to be on terms with the other and accept the other as he is or she is.” The monks were not missionaries. They were following the Trappist tradition of extensive prayer and contemplation while leading a generally cloistered lifestyle.
The monastery, established during French colonial rule, had close ties with the local community of Tibhirine, discussing spirituality with friendly Muslims and providing medical care.
The monks even provided a building for the local mosque, and the church bells announcing morning prayer would mingle with the Muslim call to prayer. Leading this monastic community was the charismatic personality of de Cherge.”Christian was an extraordinary person,”said Veilleux.”He had a deep capacity for human relationship.” Raised partly in colonial Algeria, where his mother taught him respect for the local religion and culture, de Cherge later served in the French army in its unsuccessful attempt to quell the Algerian rebellion. During the war, a Muslim friend in de Cherge’s army unit once shielded him from enemy bullets.”Nobody was killed or hurt, but that remained with him,”Veilleux said. De Cherge later became a priest, serving an affluent Parisian congregation, before becoming a monk. He studied Arabic and the Koran in Rome and then went to Atlas.
Veilleux said the monks maintained the respect of most militant groups, and de Cherge dissuaded an earlier band of rebels from attacking them. The monks were not reckless, Veilleux said. They had suitcases packed in case of any imminent threat. But the kidnappers from the Armed Islamic Group arrived without warning.
In addition to de Cherge’s testament, a monk’s journal was discovered at the monastery, indicating all the monks had spiritually prepared themselves for violent death.
Their demeanor was anything but grave, however. The journal tells of the petty squabbles and the mundane aspects of community life. Shortly before the abduction, de Cherge had written to an American nun for advice on making products from lavender growing at the monastery.
Veilleux said their lives, rooted in prayer, gave them”a deep and amazing unity that kept them joyfully courageous.” The Trappists’ Abbot General, Dom Bernardo Olivera of Argentina, said the monks’ deaths brought him to tears for the first time in 30 years. Speaking at a July interfaith gathering of Christians and Buddhists at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky, Olivera said his first thought upon hearing of their deaths was to forgive the killers.”I was absolutely sure that that was the intention of Christian and all the brethren,”Olivera said.”God takes very seriously what we ask. So I’m absolutely sure, that not only (the killer is) going to see light and to understand what he did, I’m going to meet him at the right hand of the Lord.” Two Atlas monks who were not kidnapped are now staying in Algiers. Local residents are looking after the grounds, and one of the monks will visit the site regularly.”We are coming back as soon as the situation will allow it,”said Veilleux.
MJP END SMITH
