I presume that the audience of my blogging is very familiar with the stories surrounding the martyrs of the early Church. If you went to Catholic school in the 1950’s, you no doubt heard the stories of such saints. If you were like me, you might even have wondered whether you would have had the strength to cling to your faith if your life was threatened. These men and women underwent tremendous tortures, suffered unimaginable cruelties. I think the worst torture of which I read was that of being wrapped in wet wool and tied to a stake. The wool would then be set afire, but because it was wet would burn slowly, causing unimaginable pain and suffering. Truly, the martyrs were courageous for their faith.
However, not all Christians were so courageous. We don’t think about it much, but there were many cases of men and women renouncing their faith during the persecutions. When I read the story of the martyrdom of my own patron saint, St. Lawrence, I have sincere doubts that I could equal such courage.
The men and women who renounced their faith were called apostates. This group posed a great problem for the Church because after the immediate threat of persecution, some of them asked to be readmitted to the practice of the Christian faith. That’s where the story of the two men we remember today, Saint Cornelius and St. Cyprian, comes into the picture. Saint Cornelius was elected pope in 251 A.D. and St. Cyprian was the bishop of Carthage. They were friends and supported one another in their service to their brothers and sisters in the faith. They also insisted that apostates who repented and did penance should be readmitted to the faith. The opposing view was held by not a few of his fellow bishops. They argued that apostates should never be forgiven for forsaking the faith. St. Cyprian supported St. Cornelius.
Pope St. Cornelius was exiled for his views and died of the hardships imposed upon him by that exile. He is considered a martyr by the Church. St. Cyprian, his supporter, was himself martyred during the persecution of Emperor Valerian. Their names are among the martyrs mentioned in the Roman Eucharistic Prayer (Eucharistic Prayer I).
I doubt that anyone today would oppose St. Cornelius or St. Cyprian in insisting that apostate men and women should be absolved of their sin if they are sincere in their desire to confess their sins and to do penance for them. Our long history in the Church has proven time and time again that we are all sinners, all in need of forgiveness. As our present Pope continues to remind us, God’s mercy is given freely to all who repent of their sins no matter how many times they fail. As the Gospel so frequently reminds us, God’s mercy is great enough to wash away any sin, even the sin of apostasy.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator