Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Antonella Prenna
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "We work in problematic, difficult, and complex contexts where persecution exists. Where violence and persecution prevail, there is no dialogue, there is no respect for others. Precisely for this reason, in support of our specific mission of helping persecuted Christians, we also focus on interreligious dialogue, on religious freedom as a topic for deepening and raising awareness not only on a social but also on a theological level."
This is what Father Luigi Buccarello said in an interview with Fides at the end of the General Chapter of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and the Captives O.SS.T. (see Fides, 7/11/2023), where he was confirmed for a further term as Superior General. Also present was Father Antonio Aurelio Fernández Serrano, president of the organization Trinitarian International Solidarity (SIT), which coordinates activities to support persecuted Christians.
In the wake of Dignitatis Humanae
"Following the guidelines of the Vatican II document on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, and the subsequent magisterium of the Pontiffs," Father Buccarello continues, "we have been collaborating for two years with the Center for Interreligious Studies of the Pontifical Gregorian University, with whom we organized a six-month course entitled 'Religious Freedom: Problems, Challenges, and Perspectives,' which was offered for the first time this year. In addition to the course, which is aimed at theology students and those interested in the subject, we have established a two-year theological research group involving 15 specialists from various research fields. The topic of religious freedom requires an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach; geopolitics, history, sociology, theology, canon law, civil law, and religious studies are all involved. A publication will be published at the end of this two-year research period."
"The lack of religious freedom," the priest continued, "is a challenge for every religion. Every day we hear about attacks in Nigeria, Yemen, and Syria. Syria had exuberantly celebrated the regime change, but we see that we are back to square one." "Together with Father Antonio, we are always in contact with these countries, and since we touch these realities firsthand, we recognize that religious freedom is the only guarantee of peace and coexistence. Our service is not charitable; rather, we want to address the problem at its root and combat the causes underlying religious intolerance."
"The General Chapter," the Superior General continues, "placed great emphasis on the specific training of our students in these topics. Working in the field of interreligious dialogue means paving a path to peace. Religious freedom is the path to peace. One of the important themes of the post-conciliar Magisterium is the consideration of religious freedom as a prerequisite for peace, because where freedom is respected, there is obviously peace, acceptance of others, and appreciation of religious diversity. Fundamentalists resort to violence because they do not tolerate religious diversity. They want uniformity, even within their own religious tradition; they view religion as a monolithic bloc and consider themselves the sole bearers of the authentic religious message. If this acceptance of diversity is lacking and differences are perceived as a threat rather than an enrichment, peace is in danger. But our faith is also in danger, for it always leads us to an encounter with others."
A long history
The current mission of the Trinitarian religious family coincides with an update of its founding charism. "The Trinitarian Order," explains Father Buccarello, "was founded for persecuted Christians, obviously in a different time and in a different historical context. In our motto, "Gloria tibi Trinitas et captivis libertas," we find the word 'slaves,' 'prisoners.' Our founder, Saint John of Matha, began the "liberation missions," initially from Spain to Morocco, with a letter from Innocent III, in which he recommended the Trinitarians to the Sultan of Morocco, saying that the work of freeing slaves was a work of charity, the most important, the most significant, and of universal benefit. In fact, the Pope had given the Trinitarians permission to free Christian slaves through exchange with Muslim slaves, thus creating a double liberation of both Christian and Muslim slaves."
Saint John of Matha was a learned theologian and had no intention to found a new religious family. During his first Mass, he had a vision: he saw Christ in the center, holding the arms of two slaves, a white Christian and a Black Muslim. After a period of reflection, it became clear to him that he had to found a religious family dedicated to this special mission: the redemption of captives "pro fide Christi."
"Today," adds Father Buccarello, "we know that this inspiration of our founder is very timely. The two 'lungs' of our mission are the works of mercy and persecuted Christians. And the latter is the work that most identifies and unites us. To update this charism, the Extraordinary General Chapter of 1999, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the adoption of the Rule of the Order and the fourth anniversary of the Order's reform, decided to create an organization to coordinate and promote this area of assistance to persecuted Christians, which would be called 'Trinitarian International Solidarity.'"
The organization's current president, Father Antonio Aurelio Fernández Serrano, explains that "it is an internal body of the Trinitarian religious family, whose first 25th anniversary was just celebrated. On this occasion, we made a documentary to raise awareness of the problem of persecuted Christians." "Our projects," he explains, "are also present in countries like Sudan and South Sudan, where we have already freed several young people."
Father Buccarello adds details of a meeting of the aid organization in Bahrain, where, at the initiative of the Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T., a meeting was also held with Abdulla Almanai, Executive Director of the King Hamad Global Center for Coexistence and Tollerance in Manama (see Agenzia Fides 23/10/2024). "Abdullah came to our Chapter to share his experience," the Superior General said. "He was also in the Italian Parliament, where, at a meeting in the Chamber of Deputies, he described the Trinitarian Order as an example of dialogue, care, charity, and respect."
The challenges of today
The Trinitarians are active in the Roman parish of Santa Maria delle Fornaci, the titular church of Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria. "The Cardinal," Father Buccarello explains, "spoke to us extensively about the situation in Syria, about persecution, but also about poverty, about the many Christians who have left the country in recent years. When Christians disappear from the Middle East, the balance that ensures harmonious coexistence between different cultures and faiths is lost. Peaceful coexistence is most threatened when a historical component of a region's religious landscape disappears."
The Trinitarian Order is present in 25 countries, including Vietnam, South Korea, and India, a country where, according to Father Buccarello, cases of violence and harassment against Christians are increasing year after year, as well as in many areas of Africa where "terrorist groups and movements engaged in aggressive proselytizing" are active.
The specific contribution that the Trinitarian Order can make for the future, according to the Superior General, is to "train religious who are experts in interreligious dialogue. We all need to be sensitized; even in the Western world, where we often do not know how to deal with religious diversity, there is no genuine encounter between people. Everyone has their own space; there is no true integration." "In many schools in northern Italy," he notes, "for example, the majority of students are non-Catholic and non-Christian. What resources do we provide to the children so that they can interact and welcome others? And are there other situations that are unknown? Our Trinitarian sisters in Valence, for example, have a school on the outskirts of Marseille. Eighty percent of the students are Muslims, who choose Catholic rather than public schools because they prefer a religious approach to a materialistic, atheistic one. In our school in northern Assam, India, only five percent of the students are Catholic; the others are Hindus and Muslims. However, they live together without problems because religious diversity is a resource that fosters respect for others and promotes the value of coexistence and peace."
The "motto" of the General Chapter was a quote from Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians: "Persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." “One of the criteria that was very well highlighted,” the Superior General emphasized, “is that religious freedom is not a theoretical question, but affects the lives and suffering of so many people, and that it must be analyzed in context. Each reality, in its complexity and problematic nature, presents different challenges to religious freedom. In Canada, for example, members of the order cannot go to the hospital wearing a religious habit. In the Western world, there is an aggressive secularism that tends to reduce religion to the private sphere, and identity-political cultural movements that instrumentalize religion. Identitarian movements aim to mark a kind of difference and opposition between "us and you" by fueling narratives that appeal to people's fears, for example when migration is portrayed as a kind of invasion by the enemy who has come to destroy our identity. All of us, starting with religious leaders, must loudly emphasize that the name of God cannot be associated with war and violence. This must be said emphatically. Yet even these days, we hear statements from political leaders who seek to justify the war as a kind of divine mandate." (Agenzia Fides, 28/6/2025)
