Christians on the ‘front line of suffering’ appeal for help

Violence against Christians around the world has intensified with militants in some countries working systematically to eradicate the faith, according to a new report published on Tuesday.

Produced by the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the report was launched in London at a House of Lords presentation attended by victims of persecution including leading clergy of the countries most affected.

During the presentation, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, delivered an appeal from the Pope urging governments to strive to stop the persecution of Christians in their own countries and abroad.

“Persecuted and Forgotten? A report on Christians oppressed for their faith 2013-15” highlights the scale of the crisis facing Christians by assessing 22 countries where there are violations of religious freedom including physical attacks and murders.

It concludes that between 2013 and 2015, violence against Christians has intensified in more “countries of greatest concern” than in the previous two years, the number of countries in this category rising from 13 to 15. The report also finds that, in this same period, Christians in key countries – most notably in the Middle East – have fallen victim to a religiously based ethnic cleansing.

“What we are seeing today is tantamount to full-scale violence of unimaginable horror. Some would call it genocide – a cultural genocide – with a very specific agenda to eradicate Christianity,” said John Pontifex, the report’s editor-in-chief.

At the launch, Victoria Youhanna spoke of fleeing Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria while Jean-Clément Jeanbart, Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, spoke of how his diocese is “on the front-line of suffering” in Syria, saying: “My own cathedral has been bombed six times and is now unusable. My home has also been hit more than 10 times. We are facing the rage of an extremist jihad; we may disappear soon.”

Describing the report as a call to action for governments around the world, Archbishop Jeanbart asked: “How many more Christians will have to be killed before governments stand together and proclaim religious freedom as a fundamental human right?”

Referring to the report’s title, Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood MP, who has responsibility for the Middle East, said that the plight of Christians had not been forgotten. He said that the government was raising individual cases, funding targeted projects and building the religious literacy of its staff.

In a recorded statement, Prime Minister David Cameron added: “No believer should have to live in fear and this is why this Government is committed to promoting religious freedom and tolerance at home and around the world. Now is not a time for silence we must … fight for a world where no one is persecuted because of what they believe.”

The launch was chaired by the crossbench peer and ACN trustee, Lord Alton of Liverpool.