The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the Prince of Wales highlighted the plight of persecuted Christians in their Christmas messages, while Church leaders used their homilies to urge Christians to be agents of reconciliation in a bitterly divided culture.
In a video message for the charity Aid to the Church in Need Prince Charles said: “As we mark this holiest of seasons in the Christian calendar may I assure those of you who carry the cross of suffering today that you are in my most special thoughts and heartfelt prayers.”
In the video the Prince of Wales revealed a number of meetings with people who support and minister to persecuted Christians, including a priest from Sri Lanka and a sister who worked in Syria. That sister, he said, had given him a carving of a head of the crucified Christ made from charred wood from a bombed church in Aleppo.
“It is of vital importance that we remember all those who suffer persecution for their Christian faith,” the Prince of Wales said. “As we recall how the Christ child fled with his parents to Egypt let us remember the countless many who endure terrible persecution or are forced to flee their homes and let us strengthen our resolve to prevent Christianity disappearing from the lands of the Bible.”
His comments were echoed in a video message released on Christmas Eve by the Prime Minister, who said: “Today of all days, I want us to remember those Christians around the world who are facing persecution. For them, Christmas Day will be marked in private, in secret, perhaps even in a prison cell. As Prime Minister, that’s something I want to change. We stand with Christians everywhere, in solidarity, and will defend your right to practise your faith,” he continued.
Meanwhile Church leaders reflected on the fractures that emerged in British and Irish society in 2019, a year that saw escalating debate over Brexit and a fraught General Election. In his homily for Midnight Mass at Westminster Cathedral Cardinal Vincent Nichols urged people to look for the good in others to counter the impact of a year of bitterness and division. “Only then will our society become a place in which no one is afraid and all sense a welcome. This is the fresh start we need and we, who are the touchstone of God’s presence, the sacrament of the world, are called to show the way," he said.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, reflected on the recent terrorist attack at London Bridge. “Darkness is a monster that lies,” he said. “Its growling claims seem to call out with a louder volume than the love filled whispers of the light. We see the shadows out of the corner of our eyes. They may be violence as in the Congo or on London Bridge. Whether solid or illusion, they are the reality with which we live, if we believe the dark."
The Primate of All Ireland, Eamon Martin, also spoke of the war and violence that rage on in many parts of the world, from Afghanistan to the Yemen, from Mexico to Syria and Somalia. "Millions of families, including many of our Christian brothers and sisters, are being displaced because of persecution and oppression. Human trafficking and other forms of exploitation remind us that evil continues to profit from the misfortune and misery of our fellow human being," he said. The Bishop of Down and Connor, Noel Treanor, called on Christian communities to be prophetic paradigms of engagement within society. “We are living in times of profound cultural, sociological, political, legislative and environmental change. Such times of change and transition can generate fear, anxiety, insecurity and despair. Indeed, around us we see signs of a growing polarisation in society, politics and even in the Church, a polarisation that sadly spawns intolerance, insecurity, and indifference,” he said.
Archbishop Welby and Pope Francis issued a joint Christmas message to South Sudan's political leaders this year along with the Rev John Chalmers, former moderator of the Church of Scotland. Archbishop Welby and Pope Francis are expected to visit South Sudan in 2020.