St. Josephine Bakhita, "a shining advocate of genuine emancipation"

Mary's post on working with the Vatican against modern slavery brought to mind St. Josephine Bakhita, a former Sudanese slave canonized in 2000. After being traded among several owners, Bakhita ended up with an Italian family who brought her to Italy. When her Italian owners needed to return to tend to affairs in Africa, she was left to live for a short time with the Canossian sisters. She later refused to allow her Italian owners to bring her back with them to Africa. In the resulting court case, she was recognized to be free under Italian law. (I only know what Google has found for me about the legal reasoning, which seemed to be either that she was not a slave because Italian law did not recognize slavery or because she was never a slave under the law as it existed in Sudan when she was captured by slave traders in 1877.)

As Lawrence Cunningham has written, "When we honor Josephine Bakhita, we ought to do so not with any spirit of sentimentality but with a vigorous sense of outrage at those who rob children and adults of their dignity, their freedom and their physical and spiritual integrity. We honor Josephine Bakhita not as a humble nun (which she surely was) but as an emblematic figure who stands for all who are enslaved."

(See below for excerpts from Pope John Paul II's canonization homily.)

"The law of the Lord is perfect, ... it gives wisdom to the simple" (Ps 19: 8). 

These words from today's Responsorial Psalm resound powerfully in the life of Sr Josephine Bakhita. Abducted and sold into slavery at the tender age of seven, she suffered much at the hands of cruel masters. But she came to understand the profound truth that God, and not man, is the true Master of every human being, of every human life. This experience became a source of great wisdom for this humble daughter of Africa.

In today's world, countless women continue to be victimized, even in developed modern societies. In St Josephine Bakhita we find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. The history of her life inspires not passive acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls and women from oppression and violence, and to return them to their dignity in the full exercise of their rights.

My thoughts turn to the new saint's country, which has been torn by a cruel war for the past 17 years, with little sign of a solution in sight. In the name of suffering humanity I appeal once more to those with responsibility:  open your hearts to the cries of millions of innocent victims and embrace the path of negotiation. I plead with the international community:  do not continue to ignore this immense human tragedy. I invite the whole Church to invoke the intercession of St Bakhita upon all our persecuted and enslaved brothers and sisters, especially in Africa and in her native Sudan, that they may know reconciliation and peace.

Lastly, I address an affectionate greeting to the Canossian Daughters of Charity, who are rejoicing today because their sister has been raised to the glory of the altars. From the example of St Josephine Bakhita may they be able to draw renewed encouragement for generous dedication in the service of God and neighbour.