A Martyrs Victory In A Spiritual Sense :: essays research papers fc

A Martyrs Victory in a Spiritual nose out     Bishop Francis X. crossroad was a well educated, enormously gentle man, thatwas kicked, beaten, insulted, and surrounded by hatred. All this because of onemans beliefs. He was born in Brooklyn in 1892. He was the reach of theMaryknoll Missionaries and was the first bishop of Kwantung, China. He waskilled in the late 1950s in China, he was charged with anti-Communist,counterrevolutionary, and espionage activities, his real "crime" was for being aChristian and a foreigner.     During his life Bishop Ford illustrated the cardinal virtue of fortitude,which is the ability to overcome fear in order to succeed good "it is an activesake to overcome evil for the sake of gods country" said Huggard. When he tookoffice in China, the country was already feeling the effects of the massiveJapanese advance across Asia. In a in short time millions lost there lives andwere driven from there hom es. Bishop ford refused to leave the state of war-torn country,even after the Japanese attack on Pearl suck brought the United States intothe war. During this time he distinguished himself by the way he cared for warrefugees. Chinese paid a terrible price during this war with Japan, just evenmore costly was a civil war that followed. Bishop Ford exemplified the virtueof fortitude, by not leaving the war-torn country and staying to try to pursuegood.     During this time of war, many would wonder what was the reason for himto stay in China, and what was his wherefore to live? In the Novel A Mans Search ForMeaning, Nietzsche says "he who has a why to live can bear with almost anyhow". If Ford had left the country during the time of war, there would haveprobably been no hope for the war refugees that didnt have the option to stayor go. His why to live was not to save himself, but to save others. In theNovel Frankl describes the human person as a meaning maker, who has the lasthuman freedom namely to choose one attitude in a given set of circumstances. In1950, he moved from his Diocese in Kaying China, to a political prison in Canton200, miles away. At every stop along the way he was gear up on public display andhumiliated. His attitude during these stops was not to give and let thehumiliation make get to him, but to use it as a stepping stone to fight harder,he did the inevitable he used the humiliation to make him better.