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Mathew Moothasseril
Oct 19, 2017, 12:17:52 AM10/19/17
to MST Group, santhome, Sangli Mission, syromalaba...@googlegroups.com
Global anti-Christian persecution peaks, India adds its share
Published on: 1:39 am, October 18, 2017 by: mattersindia .com
A priest prepares for mass at a damaged church in Qaraqosh
+
–
New York City: India was among three countries rated “high to extreme”
in persecuting Christians, says an international aid agency.
A report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) says anti-Christian
persecution is “worse than at any time in history” and in many cases
genocide and other crimes against humanity “now mean that the Church
in core countries and regions faces the possibility of imminent
wipe-out.”
The agency provides emergency and pastoral relief in 140 countries.
Its U.S. affiliate published the report titled “Persecuted and
Forgotten?” covers the years 2015-2017.
Its contents are bleak, describing Christianity as “the world’s most
oppressed faith community.” Anti-Christian persecution in the worst
regions has reached “a new peak” and its impact is “only now beginning
to be felt in all its horror.”
“In 12 of the 13 countries reviewed, the situation for Christians was
worse in overall terms in the period 2015–2017 than within the
preceding two years,” said the report’s executive summary, released
October 12.
Besides India, Egypt and Iran were rated “high to extreme” in the
scale of anti-Christian persecution. However, India could find some
consolation as nine other countries are rated higher than it. China,
Eritrea, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
and Syria were ranked “extreme,” while Turkey was rated “moderate to
high.”
Catholic News Agency </strong>quoting the reports noted that
persecution has increased in India since 2014, with the rise of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party. Like-minded groups frequently accuse Christians of forced
conversion, a charge that local Christian leaders strongly deny.
An India-based Catholic group reported 365 serious anti-Christian
atrocities in 2016, with 10 people killed and more than 500 clergy or
church leaders attacked for their faith.
Some Christians have faced pressure to convert under threat of force,
while others have been forced to take part in Hindu rituals and deny
their faith.
John Pontifex, editor of the CAN report, commented that “In terms of
the numbers of people involved, the gravity of the crimes committed
and their impact, it is clear that the persecution of Christians is
today worse than at any time in history. Not only are Christians more
persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are
experiencing the very worst forms of persecution.”
The report’s ratings draw from analyses like the Pew Forum’s Social
Hostilities Index and Open Door’s World Watch List, in addition to
other factors and sources, including fact-finding trips.
In some countries the state is the principal persecutor, while in
other countries social groups are culpable, while in still others a
combination of both are responsible.
Among the Asian countries, North Korea Christians were subjected to
forced starvation and abortion. Some Christians have been hung on
crosses over fire, and others crushed by steamrollers. Protestants and
Catholics are ranked among those least sympathetic to the state, which
limits their access to food, education, and health care. Christianity
is linked with American influence, and Christians are executed as
spies.
In Pakistan, banned fundamentalist cells pose a great threat to
Christians, but some charge that the government’s failure to crack
down on these groups worsens the problem of violence. On Easter Sunday
2016 as many as 24 Christians were killed in targeted violence in
Lahore. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for
the attack.
In China, church communities face increased hostility. Authorities in
some provinces have removed crosses from some churches and destroyed
church buildings. In some regions, Christmas trees and greeting cards
have been banned.
President Xi Jinping has depicted Christianity as a means of “foreign
infiltration” into China and has advocated more state control and
targeting of unofficial churches. There are fears that China’s 2016
announcement of categorization of citizens based on political,
commercial, social and legal “credit,” will create a system that
disadvantages Christians in a way similar to North Korea.
The report’s foreword was written by Melkite Archbishop Issam John
Darwish of Zahlé. The Lebanese archdiocese is near the Syrian border
and the prelate recounted the stories of Christian refugees fleeing
the six-year-old Syrian civil war.
“Many refugees have told terrible stories of persecution: like the man
whose brother, a priest, was kidnapped – and despite the family paying
the ransom they killed the priest. They sent his family a box
containing his severed wrist, tattooed with a cross, to show he was
dead,” the archbishop said.
The Middle East is a major focus for the report.
“Governments in the West and the U.N. failed to offer Christians in
countries such as Iraq and Syria the emergency help they needed as
genocide got underway,” the report said. “If Christian organizations
and other institutions had not filled the gap, the Christian presence
could already have disappeared in Iraq and other parts of the Middle
East.”
The exodus of Christians from Iraq has been “very severe.” Christians
in the country now may number as few as 150,000, a decline from
275,000 in mid-2015. By spring 2017 there were some signs of hope,
with the defeat of the Islamic State group and the return of some
Christians to their homes on the Nineveh Plains.
However, the departure of Christians from Syria has also threatened
the survival of their communities in the country, including historic
Christian centers like Aleppo. Syrian Christians there suffer threats
of forced conversion and extortion. One Chaldean bishop in the country
estimates the Christian population to be at 500,000, down from 1.2
million before the war.
Many Christians in the region fear going to official refugee camps,
due to concerns about rape and other violence.
The Islamic State group and other militants have committed genocide in
Syria and Iraq. While Islamic State and other groups have been
defeated in their major strongholds, many Christian groups are
threatened with extinction and would not survive another attack.
In northern Nigeria, the radical Islamist group Boko Haram has engaged
in genocide against Christians.
In Sudan, the government’s pursuit of an extremist Islamist agenda led
to orders to tear down Christian churches. Christians are arrested for
alleged proselytism, and women face fines for wearing “obscene” or
immodest dress. The government stripped citizenship rights of people
with origins outside Sudan, leading many to leave for their ancestral
homelands in South Sudan. Many had lived in their homes for three
decades or more.
In January 2017 the U.S. put a six-month waiver on human rights
sanctions against Sudan, on condition that the country improve its
human rights and religious freedom record.
Christians in Egypt suffered a major suicide bombing attack in
December 2016 and again on Palm Sunday in April 2017. Dozens were
killed and more injured in both attacks, for which the Islamic State
group claimed responsibility.
Saudi Arabia has come under criticism from western powers and the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom. However, President
Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with the country, a deal
which had been held up under the Obama administration due to human
rights concerns. The Aid to the Church in Need report said sources in
the country are supplying arms and finances to Sunni extremist groups
including the Islamic State, known in the region as “Daesh.”
“Given that Islamist groups such as Daesh are likely to be heavily
reliant on undeclared external sources for weapons and intelligence,
there is an urgent need to step up action to stop all entities
collaborating with them,” the report continued. “Persecuted Christians
are among the many who stand to be beneficiaries of progress in this
area.”
Archbishop Darwish said it is imperative to help persecuted Christians.
“When the Christian families who have turned to us need the very
basics for daily life – food, shelter and medical care – how can we
refuse to help?” he asked, lamenting a lack of aid from the U.N. and
other humanitarian organizations.
He praised Aid to the Church in Need’s efforts to report
anti-Christian persecution and aid those persecuted.
--
*GATHER THE SCATTERED*
Fr Mathew Moothasseril
Sant Thoma Bhavan
Post Box 306
RAMAN MALA
Kolhapur,416 003
Maharashtra
INDIA
Published on: 1:39 am, October 18, 2017 by: mattersindia .com
A priest prepares for mass at a damaged church in Qaraqosh
+
–
New York City: India was among three countries rated “high to extreme”
in persecuting Christians, says an international aid agency.
A report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) says anti-Christian
persecution is “worse than at any time in history” and in many cases
genocide and other crimes against humanity “now mean that the Church
in core countries and regions faces the possibility of imminent
wipe-out.”
The agency provides emergency and pastoral relief in 140 countries.
Its U.S. affiliate published the report titled “Persecuted and
Forgotten?” covers the years 2015-2017.
Its contents are bleak, describing Christianity as “the world’s most
oppressed faith community.” Anti-Christian persecution in the worst
regions has reached “a new peak” and its impact is “only now beginning
to be felt in all its horror.”
“In 12 of the 13 countries reviewed, the situation for Christians was
worse in overall terms in the period 2015–2017 than within the
preceding two years,” said the report’s executive summary, released
October 12.
Besides India, Egypt and Iran were rated “high to extreme” in the
scale of anti-Christian persecution. However, India could find some
consolation as nine other countries are rated higher than it. China,
Eritrea, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
and Syria were ranked “extreme,” while Turkey was rated “moderate to
high.”
Catholic News Agency </strong>quoting the reports noted that
persecution has increased in India since 2014, with the rise of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party. Like-minded groups frequently accuse Christians of forced
conversion, a charge that local Christian leaders strongly deny.
An India-based Catholic group reported 365 serious anti-Christian
atrocities in 2016, with 10 people killed and more than 500 clergy or
church leaders attacked for their faith.
Some Christians have faced pressure to convert under threat of force,
while others have been forced to take part in Hindu rituals and deny
their faith.
John Pontifex, editor of the CAN report, commented that “In terms of
the numbers of people involved, the gravity of the crimes committed
and their impact, it is clear that the persecution of Christians is
today worse than at any time in history. Not only are Christians more
persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are
experiencing the very worst forms of persecution.”
The report’s ratings draw from analyses like the Pew Forum’s Social
Hostilities Index and Open Door’s World Watch List, in addition to
other factors and sources, including fact-finding trips.
In some countries the state is the principal persecutor, while in
other countries social groups are culpable, while in still others a
combination of both are responsible.
Among the Asian countries, North Korea Christians were subjected to
forced starvation and abortion. Some Christians have been hung on
crosses over fire, and others crushed by steamrollers. Protestants and
Catholics are ranked among those least sympathetic to the state, which
limits their access to food, education, and health care. Christianity
is linked with American influence, and Christians are executed as
spies.
In Pakistan, banned fundamentalist cells pose a great threat to
Christians, but some charge that the government’s failure to crack
down on these groups worsens the problem of violence. On Easter Sunday
2016 as many as 24 Christians were killed in targeted violence in
Lahore. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for
the attack.
In China, church communities face increased hostility. Authorities in
some provinces have removed crosses from some churches and destroyed
church buildings. In some regions, Christmas trees and greeting cards
have been banned.
President Xi Jinping has depicted Christianity as a means of “foreign
infiltration” into China and has advocated more state control and
targeting of unofficial churches. There are fears that China’s 2016
announcement of categorization of citizens based on political,
commercial, social and legal “credit,” will create a system that
disadvantages Christians in a way similar to North Korea.
The report’s foreword was written by Melkite Archbishop Issam John
Darwish of Zahlé. The Lebanese archdiocese is near the Syrian border
and the prelate recounted the stories of Christian refugees fleeing
the six-year-old Syrian civil war.
“Many refugees have told terrible stories of persecution: like the man
whose brother, a priest, was kidnapped – and despite the family paying
the ransom they killed the priest. They sent his family a box
containing his severed wrist, tattooed with a cross, to show he was
dead,” the archbishop said.
The Middle East is a major focus for the report.
“Governments in the West and the U.N. failed to offer Christians in
countries such as Iraq and Syria the emergency help they needed as
genocide got underway,” the report said. “If Christian organizations
and other institutions had not filled the gap, the Christian presence
could already have disappeared in Iraq and other parts of the Middle
East.”
The exodus of Christians from Iraq has been “very severe.” Christians
in the country now may number as few as 150,000, a decline from
275,000 in mid-2015. By spring 2017 there were some signs of hope,
with the defeat of the Islamic State group and the return of some
Christians to their homes on the Nineveh Plains.
However, the departure of Christians from Syria has also threatened
the survival of their communities in the country, including historic
Christian centers like Aleppo. Syrian Christians there suffer threats
of forced conversion and extortion. One Chaldean bishop in the country
estimates the Christian population to be at 500,000, down from 1.2
million before the war.
Many Christians in the region fear going to official refugee camps,
due to concerns about rape and other violence.
The Islamic State group and other militants have committed genocide in
Syria and Iraq. While Islamic State and other groups have been
defeated in their major strongholds, many Christian groups are
threatened with extinction and would not survive another attack.
In northern Nigeria, the radical Islamist group Boko Haram has engaged
in genocide against Christians.
In Sudan, the government’s pursuit of an extremist Islamist agenda led
to orders to tear down Christian churches. Christians are arrested for
alleged proselytism, and women face fines for wearing “obscene” or
immodest dress. The government stripped citizenship rights of people
with origins outside Sudan, leading many to leave for their ancestral
homelands in South Sudan. Many had lived in their homes for three
decades or more.
In January 2017 the U.S. put a six-month waiver on human rights
sanctions against Sudan, on condition that the country improve its
human rights and religious freedom record.
Christians in Egypt suffered a major suicide bombing attack in
December 2016 and again on Palm Sunday in April 2017. Dozens were
killed and more injured in both attacks, for which the Islamic State
group claimed responsibility.
Saudi Arabia has come under criticism from western powers and the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom. However, President
Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with the country, a deal
which had been held up under the Obama administration due to human
rights concerns. The Aid to the Church in Need report said sources in
the country are supplying arms and finances to Sunni extremist groups
including the Islamic State, known in the region as “Daesh.”
“Given that Islamist groups such as Daesh are likely to be heavily
reliant on undeclared external sources for weapons and intelligence,
there is an urgent need to step up action to stop all entities
collaborating with them,” the report continued. “Persecuted Christians
are among the many who stand to be beneficiaries of progress in this
area.”
Archbishop Darwish said it is imperative to help persecuted Christians.
“When the Christian families who have turned to us need the very
basics for daily life – food, shelter and medical care – how can we
refuse to help?” he asked, lamenting a lack of aid from the U.N. and
other humanitarian organizations.
He praised Aid to the Church in Need’s efforts to report
anti-Christian persecution and aid those persecuted.
--
*GATHER THE SCATTERED*
Fr Mathew Moothasseril
Sant Thoma Bhavan
Post Box 306
RAMAN MALA
Kolhapur,416 003
Maharashtra
INDIA
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