The world can draw inspiration from a Melanesian martyr

With violence against women prevalent throughout the globe, mostly committed by their partners, a misogynistic society can perhaps turn to the exemplary life of a Melanesian layman, a catechist, who was murdered for defending his Catholic faith and the dignity of women.

Jan 21, 2022

Blessed Peter To Rot opposed polygamy. (Image: YouTube)


PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
With violence against women prevalent throughout the globe, mostly committed by their partners, a misogynistic society can perhaps turn to the exemplary life of a Melanesian layman, a catechist, who was murdered for defending his Catholic faith and the dignity of women.

Peter To Rot was martyred in July 1945, during the Japanese occupation, at the age of 33. He was given a lethal injection while in prison and, because the poison worked slowly, two Japanese soldiers hit him across the back of his head with a wooden beam.

The Catholic Church recognised his martyrdom and declared him Blessed. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on January 17, 1995 in Port Moresby, during Pope St John Paul II’s second visit to Papua New Guinea.

He was killed for two reasons.

First, he refused orders to stop church activities with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Before they were imprisoned or expelled from the territory, the parish priest entrusted the mission to his care. When the Japanese ordered him to stop the activities, he continued teaching catechism, or conducting marriages secretly, sometimes in caves.

Second, he objected to a Japanese attempt to revive polygamy. His objection came from his strong conviction on Catholic marriage and his belief that women are not a man's property.

His refusal to bow to the Japanese contradicted the attitude of local leaders and Japanese soldiers who took women and girls as sex slaves by force.

Fellow villagers, on the other hand, accepted it as something that had been ripped from them. He continued to urge them to stick to Catholic marriage and not listen to the Japanese.

The causes of his martyrdom impressed Pope St John Paul II who, throughout his pontificate, also paid significant attention to marriage and family life.

During the beatification ceremony, the Pope described Blessed Peter To Rot as a man who had the highest esteem for marriage and, even in the face of great personal danger and opposition, had defended the Church's teaching on the sanctity of marriage and the need for mutual fidelity.

As Papua New Guineans, in particular, and the Melanesian Catholic Church, in general, commemorate Peter To Rot’s beatification and papal visit on Jan 17, his act of faith once again is brought to public attention.

His martyrdom can be an inspiration for Christians in many parts of the world where religious persecution continues, particularly on the Asian and African continents. --ucanews.com

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