Keep the issues alive... keep people alive
The brief quotes and snippets below are linked to their full story.
Use items like these to keep the human story alive before your congregation. Perhaps create a regular space in your weekly bulletin for updates, titled Solidarity with persecuted Christians. Encourage your congregation to remember that: These are not just "issues" or "headlines". These are our brothers and sisters with real stories, facing concrete situations... These are Christians who belong to parishes, dioceses, family homes and neighbourhoods.... |
The Human Face
12,000-plus Christian Homes Damaged on Nineveh Plains in Iraq
An Aid to the Church in Need review finds cost to rebuild to exceed $200M More... [ACN, 29 Mar 2017]
Is time running out for Iraq’s Christians?
Many displaced Christians are still unable to return to their homes. More... [ACN, 27 Mar 2017]
The Maronite Bishop of Damascus meditates on ‘a Lent of tears’
"This bitter Lent of 2017 presents us with a time in the desert, to reconsider the Church’s engagement amidst our suffering faithful in order to better guide them toward the Resurrected Christ". More... [ZENIT, 7 Mar 2017]
Crisis continues in Syria despite ceasefire
Sister Annie Demerjian of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary speaks of the ongoing crisis. More... [ACN, 6 Mar 2017]
Iraqis' experiences recall 'what it means to live as a Christian'
Many were faced with the difficult decision of whether to stick to their Christian faith. More... [CNA, 1 Feb 2017]
Christians Assess Damage on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain
Christians speak of their return to Qaraqosh, Iraq, and the damage caused. More... [ZENIT, 19 Jan 2017]
Christian Syrian refugee: What has happened to us has not hurt our faith
A refugee in Italy speaks of his faith and his hope for Syria. More... [Rome Reports, 16 Jan 2017]
Pope calls Coptic Pope Tawadros to express condolences after Cairo attack
Pope Francis phoned Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria Dec. 12, 2016, expressing his prayers and condolences for the previous day's terrorist attack at the Cairo cathedral that left 25 people dead. More... [CNS, 12 Dec 2016]
The inside story of how 226 Assyrian Christians were freed from ISIS
Deep inside Syria, a bishop worked around the edges of international law to save the lives of more than 200 people — one of the largest groups of hostages yet documented in ISIS’s war in Syria and Iraq. More... [Catholic Herald, 6 Dec 2016]
Church in northern Iraq reopened after two years under ISIS control
The bells have rung out after two years of silence in the Mar Korkeis church in the town of Bashiqa, some 15 km north of Mosul. More... [RNS, 20 Nov 2016]
Aid Official Praises Iraqi Christians’ Resilience
Father Andrzej Halemba, Middle East projects coordinator for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), speaks about the situation of Christians in Iraq. More.. [ZENIT, 13 Sep 2016]
Interview From Aleppo
Father Ziad Hilal, a Syrian Jesuit priest, reports on his recent trip to Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. "It is chaos now—and not only in Aleppo but throughout Syria; there is fighting everywhere." More... [ZENIT, 8 Sep 2016]
A Cry for Help From Carmelite Nuns in Aleppo
"The situation is complicated and we are hearing many contradictory stories. The only truth we do know is that the people here are suffering and dying.” More... [ZENIT, 5 Aug 2016]
Thousands of Children in Syria Pray for Peace
On June 1, thousands of Christian children of all denominations gathered in several Syrian cities to celebrate “International Children’s Day” as a day of prayer for peace. In Homs, the occasion marked the first public event held with children since the liberation of the city.
More... [ZENIT, 9 Jun 2016]
Cry for Help for the Christians of Aleppo, Syria
“We will do everything in our power to allow this Church to continue its prophetic mission in this part of the world." More... [ZENIT, 26 May 2016]
Christianity under threat of extinction in the Middle East, says the Prince of Wales
At a reception hosted by Cardinal Vincent Nichols for eastern Christians, including refugees from Egypt, Syria and Iraq, Prince Charles urged people to “pause to think about that part of the world where the Word was made flesh" and to realise that the Christian heritage of the region “is under threat as never before ... The impact that this violence has had on people is heartbreaking". More... [The Tablet, 17 Dec 2015]
Sydney parishes prepare to welcome Syrian refugees
The Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP Syrian Refugee Appeal was launched last Sunday in Concord in Sydney’s inner west as the Catholic community prepared to welcome some of the 12,000 refugees Australia had agreed to accept from the region. More... [Catholic Communications, Sydney 25 Nov 2015]
The Syrian crisis and the Year of Mercy
A Syriac Catholic priest who spent more than four months as a captive of the Islamic State is headed back to his life and mission at the Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian, at Al-Nabek, 50 miles northeast of Damascus. Fr. Mourad said Christian outreach to Muslims can be part of the Church’s Year of Mercy and he calls both Christians and Muslims to embrace mercy. “In the period in which I received migrants in the monastery, I didn't do it because they were Christians or Muslims, but because they were people.” More... [Catholic News Agency, 12 Dec 2015]
Why don't more people care that religious minorities are being violently oppressed throughout the world?
On its 50th anniversary, Vatican II's Declaration on Religious Freedom is more vital than ever. More...[Catholic Herald UK, 7 Dec 2015]
MEPs hear of persecution of Christians
At least 200 churches or places of worship are attacked every single day, a vice-president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, said this week, at a high-level meeting in Brussels investigating the persecution of Christians. More... [European Parliament News. 1 Dec 2015] See too Church Times [Anglican newspaper].
Freed Syriac Catholic priest speaks of his ordeal as a prisoner of IS
In the 19-by-10-foot bathroom that served as their prison cell, Father Mourad and Deacon Boutros, held captive by Islamic State, spent most of their time praying together. "The prayer that really helped us, that was a source of strength, was the rosary," the priest said. He added that they also relied on Scripture. "I used to remember the verse from Matthew: 'But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'" On Aug. 4, IS captured and demolished Mar Elian monastery, where Father Mourad had served for 15 years. Aside from the extensive archaeological excavation he oversaw, the priest promoted dialogue and coexistence between Christians and Muslims. Father Mourad also had been sheltering Christian and Muslim refugees at the monastery. The two captives were released after 84 days in captivity. More... [CNS 13 Nov 2015]
Taxpayers in UK donate £2.7bn in aid to countries where Christians are persecuted
Taxpayers in the UK donate £2.7 billion a year in aid to countries where Christians are suffering some of the most extreme religious persecution in the world, figures show. Analysis of official aid statistics shows that four out of five countries listed on a global human rights watch list, charting attacks or official suppression against Christians, receive money from the overseas development budget or through other official agencies. More... [The Telegraph (UK) 23 Nov 2015]
22 Christians released by IS in Syria
Islamic State militants on Tuesday (12/8/15) released 22 Christians they had held captive since February, following mediation by tribal leaders, activists said. The 22 were part of more than 220 Assyrian Christians captured at the time by the IS group after it overran several farming communities on the southern bank of Khabur River in the northeastern province of Hassakeh. More... [Daily Mail Australia 12 Aug 2015]
Eyewitness report from ACN: Nigeria, 17 July 2015
A priest, travelling through of the Diocese of Maiduguri, the Nigerian diocese hardest hit by Boko Haram terror in recent years, writes:
"What I found were numerous burned out cars and deserted villages, their inhabitants having fled for fear of ongoing attacks.... Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks and our biggest fear is that our Diocese will be cut off from the rest of the country." More... [ZENIT 17 July 2015]
Interfaith rescue initiative
A Jewish peer, who was helped by Christians flee Nazi-occupied Austria and settle in Britain, is showing his thanks by funding a rescue mission of up to 2,000 Christian families in Iraq and Syria suffering at the hands of ISIS. George Weidenfeld, a crossbench peer, said he had a “debt to repay” 77 years after the Plymouth Brethren, a Christian group, took him in after he reached Britain in 1938. Quakers played a key role in the Kinderstransport, an operation that evacuated children in danger of persecution by the Nazis. More...
Life for children in Iraq
The Martyr’s Church of the Assyrian Church of the East in Semele, Iraq, is home to more than 60 Christian families and a number of non-Christian families who were displaced from their ancestral villages in the Nineveh Plains in mid-2014. On 28 April 2015, an event was held for displaced children by the ACERO relief aid agency. These events are organised to address the social and psychological impacts of conflict on the children and provide them with joy despite their circumstances. 100 children attended along with many of their mothers. Financial assistance was provided to each child to enable them the dignity and freedom to expend the aid for education purposes at their and their parent’s discretion. More... [ACERO 30 April 2015]
Assault on Assyrian Christian villages
In pre-dawn attacks on Monday residents of the 35 contiguous Assyrian villages along the Khabur river in north-eastern Syria awoke to burning churches, deserted homes and martyred soldiers as extremists swept through the majority Assyrian Christian area on a destructive rampage. In the days and hours following the assaults, in excess of 3000 people fled their homes in panic, fear and despair and are now displaced and spread across the major neighbouring regions of Hassaka and Qamishli. Many hundreds of these people took refuge in St Mary’s Cathedral of the Assyrian Church of the East in Hassaka. More... [ACERO 27 Feb 2015]
From an Australian visitor to Jordan, Jan 2015
Jessica Brown, a parishioner from Hornsby NSW Parish, writes of her recent visit to the Bader Centre, an independent Jordanian charity which facilitates the recovery of Syrian women and children injured in war: [Names changed for privacy]
"A two-year-old girl, her mother, and new born baby brother are also living at the center. Miriam was three months pregnant when she left Syria, because shrapnel hit an artery in Noor’s neck, leaving her temporarily paralysed - the deep scars of this injury are still clearly evident. She also suffered wounds in her stomach which will require further surgery to address problems with her intestines. None of this gruesome trauma is recognisable in little Noor who is happy to give away many smiles and friendly waves, although we have never met. She clearly has a close bond with the staff at the centre, who are freely giving of their love. The resilience of children still leaves me in awe. Despite the severe trauma she must harbour, she still smiles and laughs." More...
An Aid to the Church in Need review finds cost to rebuild to exceed $200M More... [ACN, 29 Mar 2017]
Is time running out for Iraq’s Christians?
Many displaced Christians are still unable to return to their homes. More... [ACN, 27 Mar 2017]
The Maronite Bishop of Damascus meditates on ‘a Lent of tears’
"This bitter Lent of 2017 presents us with a time in the desert, to reconsider the Church’s engagement amidst our suffering faithful in order to better guide them toward the Resurrected Christ". More... [ZENIT, 7 Mar 2017]
Crisis continues in Syria despite ceasefire
Sister Annie Demerjian of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary speaks of the ongoing crisis. More... [ACN, 6 Mar 2017]
Iraqis' experiences recall 'what it means to live as a Christian'
Many were faced with the difficult decision of whether to stick to their Christian faith. More... [CNA, 1 Feb 2017]
Christians Assess Damage on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain
Christians speak of their return to Qaraqosh, Iraq, and the damage caused. More... [ZENIT, 19 Jan 2017]
Christian Syrian refugee: What has happened to us has not hurt our faith
A refugee in Italy speaks of his faith and his hope for Syria. More... [Rome Reports, 16 Jan 2017]
Pope calls Coptic Pope Tawadros to express condolences after Cairo attack
Pope Francis phoned Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria Dec. 12, 2016, expressing his prayers and condolences for the previous day's terrorist attack at the Cairo cathedral that left 25 people dead. More... [CNS, 12 Dec 2016]
The inside story of how 226 Assyrian Christians were freed from ISIS
Deep inside Syria, a bishop worked around the edges of international law to save the lives of more than 200 people — one of the largest groups of hostages yet documented in ISIS’s war in Syria and Iraq. More... [Catholic Herald, 6 Dec 2016]
Church in northern Iraq reopened after two years under ISIS control
The bells have rung out after two years of silence in the Mar Korkeis church in the town of Bashiqa, some 15 km north of Mosul. More... [RNS, 20 Nov 2016]
Aid Official Praises Iraqi Christians’ Resilience
Father Andrzej Halemba, Middle East projects coordinator for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), speaks about the situation of Christians in Iraq. More.. [ZENIT, 13 Sep 2016]
Interview From Aleppo
Father Ziad Hilal, a Syrian Jesuit priest, reports on his recent trip to Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. "It is chaos now—and not only in Aleppo but throughout Syria; there is fighting everywhere." More... [ZENIT, 8 Sep 2016]
A Cry for Help From Carmelite Nuns in Aleppo
"The situation is complicated and we are hearing many contradictory stories. The only truth we do know is that the people here are suffering and dying.” More... [ZENIT, 5 Aug 2016]
Thousands of Children in Syria Pray for Peace
On June 1, thousands of Christian children of all denominations gathered in several Syrian cities to celebrate “International Children’s Day” as a day of prayer for peace. In Homs, the occasion marked the first public event held with children since the liberation of the city.
More... [ZENIT, 9 Jun 2016]
Cry for Help for the Christians of Aleppo, Syria
“We will do everything in our power to allow this Church to continue its prophetic mission in this part of the world." More... [ZENIT, 26 May 2016]
Christianity under threat of extinction in the Middle East, says the Prince of Wales
At a reception hosted by Cardinal Vincent Nichols for eastern Christians, including refugees from Egypt, Syria and Iraq, Prince Charles urged people to “pause to think about that part of the world where the Word was made flesh" and to realise that the Christian heritage of the region “is under threat as never before ... The impact that this violence has had on people is heartbreaking". More... [The Tablet, 17 Dec 2015]
Sydney parishes prepare to welcome Syrian refugees
The Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP Syrian Refugee Appeal was launched last Sunday in Concord in Sydney’s inner west as the Catholic community prepared to welcome some of the 12,000 refugees Australia had agreed to accept from the region. More... [Catholic Communications, Sydney 25 Nov 2015]
The Syrian crisis and the Year of Mercy
A Syriac Catholic priest who spent more than four months as a captive of the Islamic State is headed back to his life and mission at the Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian, at Al-Nabek, 50 miles northeast of Damascus. Fr. Mourad said Christian outreach to Muslims can be part of the Church’s Year of Mercy and he calls both Christians and Muslims to embrace mercy. “In the period in which I received migrants in the monastery, I didn't do it because they were Christians or Muslims, but because they were people.” More... [Catholic News Agency, 12 Dec 2015]
Why don't more people care that religious minorities are being violently oppressed throughout the world?
On its 50th anniversary, Vatican II's Declaration on Religious Freedom is more vital than ever. More...[Catholic Herald UK, 7 Dec 2015]
MEPs hear of persecution of Christians
At least 200 churches or places of worship are attacked every single day, a vice-president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, said this week, at a high-level meeting in Brussels investigating the persecution of Christians. More... [European Parliament News. 1 Dec 2015] See too Church Times [Anglican newspaper].
Freed Syriac Catholic priest speaks of his ordeal as a prisoner of IS
In the 19-by-10-foot bathroom that served as their prison cell, Father Mourad and Deacon Boutros, held captive by Islamic State, spent most of their time praying together. "The prayer that really helped us, that was a source of strength, was the rosary," the priest said. He added that they also relied on Scripture. "I used to remember the verse from Matthew: 'But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'" On Aug. 4, IS captured and demolished Mar Elian monastery, where Father Mourad had served for 15 years. Aside from the extensive archaeological excavation he oversaw, the priest promoted dialogue and coexistence between Christians and Muslims. Father Mourad also had been sheltering Christian and Muslim refugees at the monastery. The two captives were released after 84 days in captivity. More... [CNS 13 Nov 2015]
Taxpayers in UK donate £2.7bn in aid to countries where Christians are persecuted
Taxpayers in the UK donate £2.7 billion a year in aid to countries where Christians are suffering some of the most extreme religious persecution in the world, figures show. Analysis of official aid statistics shows that four out of five countries listed on a global human rights watch list, charting attacks or official suppression against Christians, receive money from the overseas development budget or through other official agencies. More... [The Telegraph (UK) 23 Nov 2015]
22 Christians released by IS in Syria
Islamic State militants on Tuesday (12/8/15) released 22 Christians they had held captive since February, following mediation by tribal leaders, activists said. The 22 were part of more than 220 Assyrian Christians captured at the time by the IS group after it overran several farming communities on the southern bank of Khabur River in the northeastern province of Hassakeh. More... [Daily Mail Australia 12 Aug 2015]
Eyewitness report from ACN: Nigeria, 17 July 2015
A priest, travelling through of the Diocese of Maiduguri, the Nigerian diocese hardest hit by Boko Haram terror in recent years, writes:
"What I found were numerous burned out cars and deserted villages, their inhabitants having fled for fear of ongoing attacks.... Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks and our biggest fear is that our Diocese will be cut off from the rest of the country." More... [ZENIT 17 July 2015]
Interfaith rescue initiative
A Jewish peer, who was helped by Christians flee Nazi-occupied Austria and settle in Britain, is showing his thanks by funding a rescue mission of up to 2,000 Christian families in Iraq and Syria suffering at the hands of ISIS. George Weidenfeld, a crossbench peer, said he had a “debt to repay” 77 years after the Plymouth Brethren, a Christian group, took him in after he reached Britain in 1938. Quakers played a key role in the Kinderstransport, an operation that evacuated children in danger of persecution by the Nazis. More...
Life for children in Iraq
The Martyr’s Church of the Assyrian Church of the East in Semele, Iraq, is home to more than 60 Christian families and a number of non-Christian families who were displaced from their ancestral villages in the Nineveh Plains in mid-2014. On 28 April 2015, an event was held for displaced children by the ACERO relief aid agency. These events are organised to address the social and psychological impacts of conflict on the children and provide them with joy despite their circumstances. 100 children attended along with many of their mothers. Financial assistance was provided to each child to enable them the dignity and freedom to expend the aid for education purposes at their and their parent’s discretion. More... [ACERO 30 April 2015]
Assault on Assyrian Christian villages
In pre-dawn attacks on Monday residents of the 35 contiguous Assyrian villages along the Khabur river in north-eastern Syria awoke to burning churches, deserted homes and martyred soldiers as extremists swept through the majority Assyrian Christian area on a destructive rampage. In the days and hours following the assaults, in excess of 3000 people fled their homes in panic, fear and despair and are now displaced and spread across the major neighbouring regions of Hassaka and Qamishli. Many hundreds of these people took refuge in St Mary’s Cathedral of the Assyrian Church of the East in Hassaka. More... [ACERO 27 Feb 2015]
From an Australian visitor to Jordan, Jan 2015
Jessica Brown, a parishioner from Hornsby NSW Parish, writes of her recent visit to the Bader Centre, an independent Jordanian charity which facilitates the recovery of Syrian women and children injured in war: [Names changed for privacy]
"A two-year-old girl, her mother, and new born baby brother are also living at the center. Miriam was three months pregnant when she left Syria, because shrapnel hit an artery in Noor’s neck, leaving her temporarily paralysed - the deep scars of this injury are still clearly evident. She also suffered wounds in her stomach which will require further surgery to address problems with her intestines. None of this gruesome trauma is recognisable in little Noor who is happy to give away many smiles and friendly waves, although we have never met. She clearly has a close bond with the staff at the centre, who are freely giving of their love. The resilience of children still leaves me in awe. Despite the severe trauma she must harbour, she still smiles and laughs." More...