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Cardinal Renato R. Martino was the “first one to give an example of what it meant to dedicate one’s life to the Church,” said a former secretary.
Cardinal Martino died on October 28 at the age of 91, reported the Archdiocese of Salerno, where he was from.
The cardinal served for 16 years as papal nuncio to the United Nations and the head of Vatican dicasteries for seven years.
Pope Francis expressed his condolences to the family of Cardinal Martino. In a telegram to the late cardinal's brother on Tuesday, the Pope expressed his gratitude for the "zealous pastor's long and diligent collaboration."
Cardinal Martino, the Pope wrote, "spared no effort to bear witness to the Pope’s fatherly concern for humanity. ... In the various roles entrusted to him, he worked with great dynamism for the welfare of the people, constantly promoting dialogue and harmony."
In a statement shared with Aleteia, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN said that Cardinal Martino “is lovingly remembered in New York for his service as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.”
“For 16 years, he was a father figure to the Holy See Mission, nurturing its growth and ensuring that the voice of the Pope was heard by the family of nations, calling all its members to walk together on the ‘Path to Peace,’" said that statement, referring to the Path to Peace Foundation he established "to ensure continued support for the work of the Mission.”
“Cardinal Martino will be remembered for his faithful service to the Holy See as a diplomat and curial official, but above all for his strong advocacy for peace, social justice, and human rights throughout his ministry,” the statement read.
Personal touch
Olivetta Danese, who was Cardinal Martino’s secretary at the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2002, said that aside from being a Church diplomat, working with high officials internationally, Martino was one of the most personable people she’s known.
“He was very attentive to every single person. He would remember everybody. He would be interested in the personal factor – the family and how things were going,” said Danese. “He would answer any personal letter he would receive.”
Each December, she recalled, Cardinal Martino would send out more than 500 Christmas cards – including a personal note in each one. Recipients included everyone from Pope John Paul II to anyone who had worked with him at any level.
“It was not just a mechanical thing – at all,” Danese emphasized.
"Giant" of Vatican diplomacy
Victor Gaetan, author of God’s Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy, and America’s Armageddon, called Cardinal Martino a "giant of Vatican diplomacy."
"He was in a special league of Church diplomats advanced by Pope John Paul II, who were quiet, constructive players, managing the Cold War's final phase, then opposing conflict after."
Gaetan said that he was an early advocate for nuclear non-proliferation.
"Less known was his horror at US militarization," Gaetan told Aleteia. "With JPII, he opposed both invasions of Iraq, in 1991 and 2003. He rejected vengeance in the conduct of foreign relations, which he saw, for example, in the way the US treated Saddam Hussein."
The author said that Martino's attitude stemmed from his childhood. "He told friends that his revulsion toward war came from what he saw as a child during World War II in his hometown of Salerno, Italy, where bombing, military occupation, deprivation and humiliation were, for several years, the norm," Gaetan said.
Life of service
Born on November 23, 1932, Renato Raffaele Martino was ordained a priest in 1957 before entering the service of Vatican diplomacy in 1962. After serving in the nunciatures in Nicaragua, the Philippines, Lebanon, Canada, and Brazil, Martino returned to Rome. From 1970 to 1975, he headed the Section for International Organizations in the Secretariat of State.
In 1980, Archbishop Martino was appointed nuncio to Thailand and apostolic delegate to Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, and Brunei.
Six years later, he was appointed Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York, a position he held for 16 years. He voiced opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq and sanctions on the country. He also represented the Holy See at the international conference on population in Cairo in 1994 and the Beijing conference on women the following year, working to form coalitions of “conservative” nations that opposed abortion.
"He's famous for facing down the West's attempt to redefine abortion as a healthcare service in Egypt in 1994," Gaetan said. "He did it by creating a new alliance between the Holy See, Latin America, and Muslim-majority countries."
As nuncio to the UN, Martino hosted Pope John Paul during his 1995 visit to New York, which included an address to the General Assembly. The archbishop also created the Path to Peace Foundation, intended to recognize people who have promoted the teaching of the Church in the areas of morality, development, human rights and peace. Danese, his secretary, said he was especially proud of this accomplishment, one which allowed him to raise money for missions in other countries.
From New York to Rome
Pope John Paul appointed him president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 2002 and created him a cardinal the following year. He turned his attention to the difficult situation in Venezuela and the serious civil conflict in Ivory Coast, according to Vatican News. He spoke out especially on the tragic situation in the Middle East.
In 2004, his dicastery published the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
"At the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (2002-2009), he continued the great work of Cardinal Roger Etchegaray (president, 1984-1998) deploying the council as a parallel plane of Church activism -- always, behind the scenes," said God's Diplomats author Gaetan.
In 2005, Martino participated in the conclave leading to the election of Pope Benedict XVI. The new pope merged the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and Cardinal Martino continued to lead them until 2009. (In photo above, Bishop Paul Cordes, left, Cardinal Martino and Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls arrive for a 2006 press conference to present Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est.”)
The cardinal was not able to participate in the 2013 conclave electing Pope Francis, having reached the age of 80 the previous year.
Cardinal Martino’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals as main celebrant. Pope Francis is scheduled to lead the rite of final commendation.
