(LifeSiteNews) — On his visit to Algeria last week, Pope Leo declared that “Islam is a religion of peace we can learn from” and went on to praise Algeria’s “rich diversity.” But the fact is that Algeria today is a lot less “diverse” than it used to be, religiously speaking.
In 1955, Algeria had one million Catholics and 140,000 Jews. Today, there are only 8,000 Catholics and 200 Jews left in the entire country. Thousands were slaughtered by radical Islamists during the 1954-1962 civil war, while the rest fled for their lives.
The persecution continues today. According to the 2026 Open Doors World Watch List, Algeria is one of the top 20 countries in terms of the persecution of Christians. Dozens of evangelical churches have been closed by the authorities in recent years, while speaking openly about the Christian faith is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Instead of praising a virtually nonexistent “diversity,” Pope Leo should have followed Pope Benedict XVI in asking for reciprocity in Christian-Muslim relations, particularly regarding religious freedom.
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Benedict repeatedly and forcefully argued that, since Muslims enjoy full rights to practice their religion in Christian-majority countries, Christian minorities in Muslim-majority countries should enjoy the same freedom in return.
It would certainly have been fitting to proclaim this message of religious freedom in Algeria, where, outside of the few surviving churches and religious communities, Catholics do not have the right to worship openly, to build churches, or to proclaim the Gospel.
It is clear that this Pope is very reluctant, even fearful, to criticize the Islamist atrocities being committed in Nigeria, for example, where at Easter dozens of Catholics were gunned down, and their were homes set on fire. He carefully limits himself to expressing sorrow over the attacks and vaguely calls on the authorities to protect all citizens from violence and terrorism.
But there is one thing that Pope Leo, following Pope Benedict, should be urged to do: He should recognize the Catholics being killed in Nigeria as martyrs to the faith. After all, they are being killed in odium fidei – out of hatred for the faith — and so they are, according to Catholic teaching, martyr-saints.
There is a very recent precedent for recognizing those who died at the hands of Islamist fanatics, one that comes to us from both Pope Benedict and, somewhat surprisingly, Pope Francis. It involves the 813 Martyrs of Otranto, Italy.
In 1480, a large Ottoman force under Gedik Ahmed Pasha attacked the Italian coastal city of Otranto. The defenders fought bravely but were soon overwhelmed by their more numerous attackers.
After the city fell, the Ottoman invaders engaged in their usual pillage and rapine. The women and older children were taken as concubines and slaves, while the elderly and small children were simply massacred. The surviving defenders of the city were rounded up and taken outside the city to the Hill of Minerva.
There the men of the city, some 813 in all, were told by Gedik Ahmed Pasha that they could either convert to Islam or be beheaded on the spot.
Antonio Primaldo, their leader, was not intimidated. He turned to his men and shouted, “Now it is time for us to fight to save our souls for the Lord. And since He died on the cross for us, it is fitting that we should die for Him.”
And the Martyrs of Otranto died on that day, August 14, 1480. Not a single one of 813 apostatized. All were promptly beheaded. All but one, that is. Pasha ordered that the archbishop of the city suffer a slow and painful death, so instead of being beheaded, he was slowly sawn in half.
The 813 Martyrs of Otranto, also known as Saints Antonio Primaldo and his Companions, were recognized as martyrs by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. Several years later, he announced that the formal canonization Mass would be held on February 11, 2013.
Oddly enough, February 11, 2013, turned out to be the very day that Benedict announced his sudden resignation. The canonization Mass was postponed until May 12, 2013, when, in his very first canonization as pope, it was presided over by Pope Francis.
Up to now, this canonization of the 813 Martyrs of Otranto is the largest single-group canonization in Church history. But it should not remain so.
Pope Leo should elevate to the altars the many thousands of Nigerian Catholics who, in the present day, are similarly being killed in odium fidei – out of hatred for the faith.
Declaring their fallen brethren to be martyr-saints would give the Catholics of Nigeria and other African countries courage to face these attacks — and even their own possible martyrdom – with the same courage displayed by the defenders of Otranto.
Given the numbers involved, this canonization, were it to take place, would easily be the largest canonization in the history of the Catholic Church. Estimates of those Catholics killed in Nigeria run into the tens of thousands.
In fact, every time that Muslim jihadis slaughter Catholics, those killed should be elevated to the altars. Those who suffer persecution for their Catholic faith on earth can never have too many intercessors in Heaven.
It is the very least that we, the Church Militant, can do for them.
Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of The Devil and Communist China.
