Buildings around the world were lit red to mark #RedWednesday, an initiative of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need and Christian Solidarity Worldwide, to protest against religious persecution.
Individuals supporting the day wore red and posted on social media as schools, churches and other secular and religious buildings were turned in solidarity with those who suffer for their faith.
Cathedrals that took part in the UK included St Chad’s RC Cathedral, Birmingham, London’s Southwark (Anglican) Cathedral and St Mirin’s Catholic Cathedral, Paisley, Scotland.
The annual #RedWednesday came as ACN reported that Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy and was recently released from prison by Pakistan's Supreme Court, is deeply worried for her family's safety.
Joseph Nadeem, who has been taking care of Bibi's family since sentence in 2010, told ACN: “We're afraid. In recent days, the Islamists have fired at the gate of our home. We are constantly receiving threats and on more than one occasion we have been followed.”
He added that his own family along with Bibi's children is also in danger and have had to move house four times. "As soon as Asia was acquitted, we had to flee. The Islamists hunt us down and every time we realise that we are in danger we immediately run away. We can't even go and buy food. I only go out at night with my face covered."
He said Bibi, a Catholic, had kept her faith. "She is an incredible woman! She has kept an unshakable faith and an infinite trust in the Lord,” he said. “It may seem strange but it is she who supports us in these difficult times. She invites us not to be discouraged and says that compared to what she has been through so far, this is only a brief moment that will pass.”
Bibi's daughters Esha and Eisham have not yet been reunited with their mother but have been speaking to her on the phone. N
He said Eisham was moved when she saw her video message projected during the Nov. 20 #RedVenice event in Venice, Italy. “All of us, including Asia, are grateful to those who raise their voices to denounce our situation."
Fr Dominic Robinson of the Jesuit Church in Farm St, Mayfair leads the procession of the Cross in London
In London, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Cathedral, St Martin-in-the-Fields, All Souls Langham Place, Wimbledon’s Sacred Heart Church, Farm Street Church in Mayfair and Tyburn Convent at Marble Arch were among those lit red.
Schools, colleges and universities also took part including the Catholic Chaplaincy at Warwick University, York University, Kings College London, Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies and Downside School, Somerset. Speakers in London included Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad, the Prime Minister’s special envoy on freedom of religion or belief, and the Coptic Orthodox Archbishop Angaelos. A service at Westminster Cathedral included a live video link with Christian in Aleppo, Syria.
Meanwhile Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, preaching at a #RedWednesdayMass celebrated in Saint Malachy’s Church in Armagh, said: "All over the world this week, cathedrals, churches and other public buildings have been lit up in red in solidarity with persecuted Christians, and with other faith minorities who suffer because of their religious beliefs.
"Sadly their suffering often goes unnoticed – most of us go on about our business, unaware of the injustice and discrimination which affects our brothers and sisters throughout the world. By lighting our churches up in red or by wearing something red, we have been reminding ourselves that too many Christians and other religious minorities are victims of insult, violence, torture and even death because of their beliefs. Today, especially, they are in our thoughts and prayers."
He referred to the report on “Religious Freedom in the World 2018” published last week by ACN, which he said "shockingly illustrates how countless numbers of people around the world have been killed, 'disappeared' or indefinitely imprisoned simply for belonging to the wrong religion."
The report found significant religious freedom violations in almost one fifth of all countries examined. "Among its most troubling findings for me was the observation that 'aggressive nationalism, hostile to religious minorities, has worsened' together with 'increasing evidence of a curtain of indifference behind which vulnerable faith communities suffer' and that 'in the eyes of Western governments and the media, religious freedom is slipping down the human rights priority rankings, being eclipsed by issues of gender, sexuality and race'," the Archbishop said.
"This is why it is important for us to gather like this on #RedWednesday to raise awareness of these matters, to express our solidarity in prayer with the persecuted, and to pledge our charity and support for organisations like Aid to the Church in Need who are working to promote religious freedom and highlight abuses."
He noted that Ireland has historically been no stranger to persecution and martyrdom for the faith. "This evening in Armagh I bring to mind and prayer the Franciscan friars, Rodger McConvill, Conor McWard and Fergal Ward who were flogged and dragged to death here on the streets of Armagh in the 16th century, Father James O’Fallegan, Parish Priest of Armagh who was tortured to death in the 17th century because he would not recant the faith, and Dean Brian McGurk who in the early 18th century was imprisoned and chained to his death for his faith. Next year it is my hope to erect a Shrine in the Cathedral to former Archbishop of Armagh, Saint Oliver Plunkett and all those who, like him, were persecuted and martyred for the faith in this diocese."
He concluded: "The fact that persecution and martyrdom of our fellow Christians continues today in many parts of the world invites us to consider how we ourselves witness to our faith in Irish society. We are all called to be prophetic in shining the light and truth of the Gospel into the world, even when it brings ridicule, insult, criticism or leads to our being ostracised in public discourse.