Today is the feast day of a little known saint and his many companions. In the late 1800s in Uganda, St. Charles Lwanga and about 100 of his fellow Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, were murdered in various monstrous ways by their king. A wonderful account of their background and martyrdom can be found here (scroll down for longer account).

In short, we may easily relate to their circumstance since their society was debauched, as is our own. They were killed for standing against great sins. In brief,

King Mwanga of Uganda launched persecutions of Christians in response to their opposition to his homosexual and corrupt court. St. Charles, the master of his pages, was martyred with fourteen other pages on June 3, 1886; other companions were killed later.

Many of those killed were young. At least one of the courageous martyrs was a thirteen-year-old boy, and another was the king's "page boy," only 14. Through their blood sacrifice in the name of Jesus Christ, they were saved from being victims of pedophilia.

The lesson taught by these and other heroic saints and martyrs is that we, as Christians, must be willing to imitate their great courage by standing in opposition to all wrong perpetrated by those in positions of authority, whether inside or outside the Church. For the sake of charity, we must point out where Holy Mother Church teaches Truth and be willing to spread the holy faith, not suppress it or attempt to alter it to suit our personal desires or sense of convenience. The Truth must be made clear in order for people to know what it is and follow it.

St. Charles Lwanga & his many companions, pray for the Diocese of Camden!