(LifeSiteNews) — A new documentary tells the incredible story of the 22 Ugandan Martyrs who were executed after refusing to submit to a wicked king’s demands that they engage in homosexual activity. The film, through several compelling interviews with Ugandan clergy and laity, explores the courage of these brave martyrs, their powerful example in refusing to submit to sin, and more.
The documentary opened with a brief summary of the events leading to the execution of the 22 martyrs, who were among the many Ugandan converts to Catholicism when European missionaries introduced the faith to the country in the 1870s. King Mwanga II demanded compliance from all members of his court, including sexual compliance with his homosexual desires.
The new converts were killed between November 1885 and January 1887, when they refused to comply with these advances or renounce their faith.
READ: The Ugandan Martyrs are true examples of chastity in a lust-ridden world
“We know very well that (King Mwanga’s) court had been infested by homosexuality … and the king himself had sort of caught this particular vice, homosexuality, for this matter, and he was making these advances towards young boys,” Deacon Anthony Sali recounted. “What surprised me in their life is that even then, still at that young age, with the little knowledge they had received of the faith, they were really resolved not to give in to this.”
“The life of these martyrs, the Ugandan Martyrs, really inspires me … in that while they were still neophytes, new people to this faith, they were ready to die rather than soil their chastity, rather than give in to the advances of the king,” he added.
Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere of Kampala emphasized that young people today should follow the example of these martyrs.
“The young people of today should emulate these martyrs. We have got our temptations as well, (although) I don’t think we have suffered up to the shedding of blood as the martyrs did. (But) it is up to us to resist such temptations,” the archbishop said.
“I encourage the young people to do the same. And I’m sure and confident that they have got the muscle, they can, if they so wish, resist such temptations,” he added.
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Katelega Patrick, a Catholic seminarian, stressed that these martyrs can teach us the importance of standing firm and saying “no” to sin.
“When we don’t learn to say ‘no,’ it’s so much harder to stand for any value in life and in society. So, as Christians, as Catholics, we must learn from these martyrs, saying ‘no’ to social evil and to stand for the truth always. Because Jesus has told us that the truth sets men free,” he said.
Patrick further underscored that sometimes saying “no” to sin will lead to suffering, such as judgment from the rest of society. However, we must still stand firm in the truth, following the example of Our Lord.
“Pope John Paul II brought to us an encyclical, Salvific Doloris (Redemptive Suffering). In that encyclical, the pope exhorts the entire Church to give in to human suffering,” the seminarian said. “He tells us that suffering is real, but we learn from Jesus Himself, who gave in to suffering, and through that suffering He saved us.”
“So, a Christian who learns from the martyrs should learn to say ‘no’ to social evil. Then in that saying no, you have become a true witness to the truth, and that truth one day will set him free,” he added.
To learn more about the Ugandan Martyrs, watch the full documentary.
