Catholic journalist John L. Allen Jr., who spoke at the Archdiocesan Leadership Institute Nov. 3, characterized Christian persecution as a story that “struggles to be told” in mainstream media and yet it’s a “human rights scourge of dumbfounding proportions.”
“Christians are by far, statistically speaking, the most persecuted religious community,” said Allen during his presentation in Louisville. He was quick to note at the outset: Christians aren’t the only ones suffering. So it’s important, Allen said, to bear in mind: “If our concern for Christian persecution means anything, it has to be part of a larger human rights concern across the board.”
As an associate editor of the Boston Globe and its Catholic news website Cruxnow.com, Allen is trying to shed more light on the plight of persecuted Christians, something he sees as a moral imperative.
And we should listen.
He and a colleague traveled to Central America, Asia and Africa earlier this year, where they interviewed 200 or so Christians who’ve suffered violence. He shared some of their horror stories at the Flaget Center last week.
In brief, sparing some of the worst details, the stories Allen related included the gang rape and public humiliation of a nun in India. He discussed the kidnapping and subsequent release of a bishop in Colombia who still cries for those who didn’t survive captivity. He described the public and gruesome killing of a father who died as his children watched. And he related the travails of a family in Egypt that was stripped of its possessions and livelihood, leaving the family destitute and the father — who has a serious medical condition — waiting to die. (These stories and others can be read in more detail on Cruxnow.com. Search for “John Allen” and “persecution.”)
As he told these stories last week, his audience — about 150 church workers in the Archdiocese of Louisville — was visibly disturbed. Tears streamed down the faces of co-workers and parishioners. It was too easy to imagine one’s own husband or a beloved religious sister suffering the same fate.
A week later, it’s also easy, here in the U.S., to forget Christian persecution, as we sit comfortably in the majority.
But Allen left his listeners with a call to action: “We face a serious call to be in solidarity with our own brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering.” While that may sound abstract, he said, Americans have the opportunity and an obligation to help, especially in Iraq and Syria where “Christians are being slaughtered wholesale.”
What can one do? Pray, yes. What else?
The Catholic Conference of Kentucky (CCK) has a suggestion. It called on Catholics Nov. 10 to contact lawmakers as Congress finalizes the federal budget.
“If you could use your voice to help our brothers and sisters fleeing war and persecution in places such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, would you speak out?” the notice said. “Urge (Congress) to robustly fund humanitarian and development core poverty accounts and provide at least a $1-billion increase in assistance to address the Syrian refugee crisis.”
Closer to home, there’s another way to help. Catholic Charities of Louisville expects to settle about 800 refugees in Jefferson County next year and about a quarter of them are likely to be Syrians. As reporter Jessica Able wrote in a story on page 9 of this week’s paper, the agency needs donations — both financial and in-kind — to help these and all refugees it assists.
Father Christopher Lubecke, a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville, led St. Catherine Church in New Haven, Ky., in a collection drive to aid refugees, Able reported. He organized the collection, he said, in response to Pope Francis’ urging:
“In the face of the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees, who are fleeing death because of war and hunger” and are seeking a new life, the pope called on “parishes, religious communities, monasteries and sanctuaries all across Europe to give concrete expression of the Gospel and receive a family of refugees,” according to a Sept. 8 story by Catholic News Service.
Let’s imitate the parishioners of St. Catherine and Pope Francis by welcoming refugees into our midst and showing them God’s love and mercy.
MARNIE McALLISTER
Editor
