Paul Keenan
The Pope has called Christians to be ‘firm in hope’ amid persecution, writes Paul Keenan
Though one would not know it from the secular press, the issue of Christian persecution was the big story of the week just past.
A subject which is, sadly, not considered ‘breaking news’, prompted a virtual synchronicity of voices from numerous corners of the world as leaders – mainly, but not solely, Christian – gave vent to frustrations at suffering ongoing and largely ignored.
Pope Francis, unsurprisingly, was the figure most likely to be heard in his highlighting of the topic when he used his general weekly audience of November 12 to give fresh voice to his concern for the welfare of Christians experiencing direct persecution today.
“I have been following with great trepidation the dramatic events of Christians who in various parts of the world are persecuted and killed because of their religious beliefs,” he said. “I feel the need to express my deep spiritual closeness to the Christian communities hard hit by an absurd violence that shows no signs of stopping, while I encourage pastors and the faithful to be strong and firm in hope.”
In utilising both his profile and international network of faithful to convey this message, the Pontiff became the lead voice in a chorus clamouring for the international community to do far more than it has done to date on behalf of struggling communities who now face an anguished Advent season.
Close to home, as the Pope addressed the faithful gathered in Rome, a forum of Christian and Muslim representatives at the Vatican concluded its assembly by issuing a condemnation of religious persecution and an appeal for a “culture of inter-religious dialogue for deepening mutual understanding”.
Repressive
Mindful of the repressive activities of the Islamic State (IS), the gathering, which had been organised by the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue was united in its insistence that “it is never acceptable to use religion to justify such acts or to conflate such acts with religion”.
Beyond the boundaries of Rome, however, leaders were equally vocal.
From Lebanon, and echoing the Pontiff, a November 11-12 gathering of the bishops of the Syrian Orthodox Church expressed solidarity with the Christian communities scattered by the IS advance across the Nineveh Plain in Iraq and called on the international community to do more to check the ethnic cleansing and ensure the continued presence of Christians there.
Similarly, where politicians have been found wanting, prelates have decided to act themselves, with the Syrian bishops also announcing during their assembly the establishment of an ad hoc commission of clergy and lay people to seek information on the whereabouts of the Aleppo prelates kidnapped by jihadists in 2013 – Syrian Orthodox Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim and the Greek Orthodox Boulos al-Yazigi.
Quite separately, Rome’s Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, concurred with the assessment of political sloth, lamenting in an interview the fact that Christian persecution “is not something which really interests the big political agendas of the great nations”.
This apparent indifference was at the heart of the message issued simultaneously from a leading figure in the Moscow Patriarchate during the week, aimed squarely at western media.
Specifically referencing Syria and Iraq, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov of the Patriarchate’s Synodal Department for External Church Relations asserted that “if you look at the Western media landscape, the problem of persecution and suffering of Christians is not present there at all. You get the feeling that the media platform has been cleansed”.
A noteworthy contention, though it must be pointed out at the same time that the spokesman studiously avoided any reference to Crimea, where Russian activities in cementing the place of the Russian Orthodox Church is negatively affecting the ability of the Catholic Church to operate freely, another case of persecution.
Further afield, in Nigeria, where Boko Haram continues its lethal drive for Islamic power (based on its own violent interpretation), Pope Francis’ call for resolve was echoed by a prelate whose diocese falls within the geographic stronghold of the terrorists.
In a pastoral letter, Bishop Oliver Doeme of Maiduguri bemoaned the “severe test of faith” posed by Boko Haram before calling on his people: “Let us keep our faith alive. We should never get discouraged. Our faith should make us see beyond the immediate experience and look at the future – that is, after this temporal life with its pains and suffering, we shall share in the eternal glory of our Lord. And so we needto have unshakable faith in God, despite what we are experiencing.”
Never before, it seems, has there been a need for the resolve and unshakeable faith called for by religious leaders. Quite apart from the headline-grabbing activities of Islamic fundamentalists and jihadists, news agencies (religious) offered a dizzying array of persecution reports, from arrests in Laos of villagers refusing to renounce Christianity, actions by fundamentalists to block the celebration of Catholic Masses in Java, Indonesia, Hindu protests against conversion to Christianity in India, and the prospect of hunger strikes by hard-pressed Christians in Nepal to secure real freedom of religion there. (Earlier this month, Aid to the Church in Need issued a report detailing how in 116 of the world’s 196 nations, freedom of religion is curbed to varying degrees.)
Amid such reports and at this violent point in time, it may seem to be a stretch to suggest that Bishop Doeme’s flock may yet see the reward for its unshakable faith in this life, but across a week of such negativity, there were also reasons to hope for such an eventuality.
Within Nigeria itself, quickly after the issuing of the prelate’s letter, the army announced on November 15 it had retaken the city of Chibok from Boko Haram in a major operation, while America’s General Martin Dempsey, during a visit to Iraq, felt bold enough to declare that resistance to IS was showing a dividend and the fanatics were losing momentum.
Admittedly, these are battles won, not the long war against one form of extremism which holds Christian persecution as a tactic to be adhered to, but this same week, voices have been raised as to the possibilities for the future if and when victory over extremism can be secured.
Agendas
Even as he criticised the agendas of powerful nations, Archbishop Caccia described Lebanon as the very model of peaceful co-existence between faiths “where there is space for all communities”, courtesy of constitutional power-sharing arrangements, surely an inspiration for turbulent nations in the region.
Meanwhile, from neighbouring Jordan, Prince el Hassan bin Talal, during an interview with Vatican Radio, denounced Christian suffering as “abhorrent” and called for a major “Vatican-type consultation” between the Sunni and Shia traditions of Islam to take place in Mecca to initiate a “new template of hope” for the future.
Perhaps if such voices were afforded broader coverage east and west, very real and enduring actions against Christian persecution could be realised.
Now that would be newsworthy indeed.
