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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
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