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Middle Eastern Christian Leaders Condemn 'Barbaric' Persecution

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  • Middle Eastern Christian Leaders Condemn 'Barbaric' Persecution

    MIDDLE EASTERN CHRISTIAN LEADERS CONDEMN 'BARBARIC' PERSECUTION

    Christian Today
    Sept 10 2014

    Published 10 September 2014 | Carey Lodge

    Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has joined other
    faith leaders in urging an end to the "global crisis" of religious
    persecution.

    Politicians, policy makers and faith leaders have urged the
    international community to step up its response to religious
    persecution in the Middle East.

    Meeting for the inaugural IDC (In Defence of Christians) Summit in
    Washington this week, representatives from Middle Eastern churches
    condemned global inaction, insisting all nations must immediately
    address the growing crisis in Iraq and Syria.

    According to the Washington Post, Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros
    Cardinal Rai, Maronite patriarch of Antioch and all the East, said:
    "Far too long the world has stood there watching these atrocities
    without lifting a finger while the local government has proved to be
    utterly incapable of saving the lives of its citizens."

    The plight of Christians in the region has been of particular concern
    after being targeted specifically by Islamic State (IS) militants in
    a bid to create a caliphate.

    Last week, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby noted that the Middle
    East is the "birthplace of Christianity, and home to indigenous
    Christian communities that have been an indispensible part of its
    history".

    He warned that the region is "in desperate danger of losing an
    irreplaceable part of its identity, heritage and culture."

    The IDC summit yesterday echoed this sentiment, with Aram I Keshishian,
    Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
    branding the crisis a "global evil".

    "Religious freedom is not just an American right, it's a universal
    right," Cardinal Patriarch Rai, speaking before several members of
    Congress, added.

    "Religious freedom is an essential part of human dignity, and without
    it, the world cannot know peace."

    Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of
    Alexandria, who last week supported Archbishop Welby in his call,
    said there is a collective responsibility to protect human rights
    around the world.

    "The international community, those who have any faith, any sense of
    morals, any sense of ethics, any sense of right or wrong, cannot sit
    by," he said.

    "What is happening in the Middle East now is unthinkable. It would
    have been considered barbaric 1,400 years ago. Today it is absolutely
    unacceptable."

    The Summit ends tomorrow.

    http://www.christiantoday.com/article/middle.eastern.christian.leaders.condemn.barbaric. persecution/40484.htm

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