Fr Andrea Santoro, a martyr for the third millennium

Fundamentalism among assassin's motives: the killer shouted "Allah akhbar, Allah is great!" But it could also be revenge by mafia controlling prostitution.

Ankara (AsiaNews) - Grief, but also "recognition", in the thoughts of the Vatican's nuncio in Ankara for the sacrifice of Fr Andrea Santoro, a "fidei donum" priest killed this afternoon in the Saint Mary Church of Trebizond (Trabzon in Turkish), nothern Turkey. Contacted by telephone, Monsignor Antonio Lucibello, who took up his post as nuncio just over a month ago, told AsiaNews: "This is a source of great sorrow, but also a great recognition for this priest from the diocese of Rome who had committed himself to missionary work. During the Great Jubilee we often had martyrdom mentioned as the Church's keynote. Fr Andrea is a new martyr for this millennium. Let us hope that his blood is the seed for new Christians. Fr Andrea was a missionary just like Saint Paul who says: My duty is to evangelize."