Witness to Christ – Martyrs yesterday and today is the title of a conference held in the Pontifical Irish College in Rome on Saturday 31 May 2008 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Fr Ragheed Ganni. Fr Ragheed Ghanni, who was a student at the Pontifical Irish College from 1996 to 2003, was ambushed and murdered with three companions in Iraq on 3 June 2007.
The conference was opened by Monsignor Liam Bergin, Rector of the Pontifical Irish College. Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity among Christians chaired a session on The Eucharist and Suffering. The conference will also had sessions on The Martyrs of Ireland and England and Contemporary Christian Experience of Martyrdom.
Other participants included: Dr Donna Orsuto, Director of The Lay Centre in Rome,; Rev Joseph Agius OP, Rector of the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas; Dr Eamon Duffy, Professor of the History of Christianity and Fellow and President of Magdalene College, Cambridge; Dr Philip J.Rosato SJ, Senior Fellow of Woodstock Theological Centre; Dr Andrew Riccardi, President of Comunità di Sant’Egidio and Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Under- Secretary for Relations with States. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri will preside at Vespers in the Basilica dei Santi Quattro Coronati at Celio on Saturday evening.
Monsignor Liam Bergin, rector of the Pontifical Irish College commented: “During his seven years of study in Rome, Ragheed was unable to return to Iraq during the Summer months. Because of this he came to Ireland and helped with pilgrims on Lough Derg. President McAleese was among the many people who got to know Ragheed there.
“Ragheed Ganni knew the danger he faced by deciding to remain in his parish in Mosul. He had received many threats but he refused to put his own safety before the spiritual and physical welfare of his parishioners. While his death is a great loss to his family and friends and to the Chaldean Church, it is also a source of encouragement for many who continue to suffer. Throughout the centuries, the witness of the martyrs has inspired hope and courage in the face of oppression and persecution. By hosting this conference on the first anniversary of Ragheed Ganni’s death, it is our hope to highlight the plight of Christians who suffer for their faith and to bring renewed attention on the Christians of Iraq who are confronted by danger on a daily basis.”
The register of the Irish College, Rome records the names of four students who by their deaths witnessed to Christ. The first was Philip Cleary from Raphoe. He returned to Ireland in 1640 and two years later died a martyr. Oliver Plunkett was a student in the Irish College from 1647 to 1654 and then a professor at Propaganda Fide and finally a reforming Archbishop and Primate of All Ireland. He was martyred in Tyburn in 1681 and was declared a saint by Pope Paul VI in 1975. Archbishop Michael Courtney, a student at the Irish College from 1963 to 1968, was killed while serving as Papal Nuncio in Burundi on 29 December 2003. Ragheed Ganni from Mosul, Iraq was a student at the Irish College from 1996 to 2003 and was ordained a priest in 2001. Having concluded his post-graduate studies, he returned to his diocese. On 3 June 2007 having celebrated the Eucharist with his parishioners, Ragheed and three companions were ambushed and murdered
Speakers at the Conference:
