Roman Colosseum to Be Lit Blood Red for Persecuted Christians

By Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

Breitbart 

The Roman Colosseum along with two churches in Mosul and Aleppo will be lit up by red lights later this month to draw attention to the global persecution of Christians.

“Christians are the victims of at least 75 percent of all religiously-motivated violence and oppression,” declared the latest report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the group organizing the event, and moreover “the extent of this persecution is largely ignored by our media.”

In a gesture meant to combat global indifference to the plight of persecuted Christians, on Saturday, Feb. 24, one of Rome’s most iconic structures—the Colosseum—will be illuminated in red, representing Christians who have shed their blood for the faith.

At the same time, prominent churches in Syria and Iraq will be illuminated with red lights as well. In Aleppo, the St. Elijah Maronite Cathedral will be lit up in red, as will the Church of St. Paul in Mosul. Turning on the lights in Mosul, said the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako I, “means bringing back hope to Iraqi Christians who have suffered so much.”

According to Alfredo Mantovano, president of ACN-Italy, the media event is meant as a denunciation of “the martyrdom suffered by our brothers and sisters.” It is our intention, he said, “to involve them directly through two of the communities who have suffered the most in recent years, those of Syria and Iraq.”

Last year, Aid to the Church in Need organized a similar event, lighting up London’s Parliament building in red, as well as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris and the cathedral in Manila, Philippines as a sign of solidarity with persecuted Christians everywhere.

In 2016, Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain was bathed in red light in a move reminiscent of the first plague of Egypt, commemorating the many new martyrs killed in our time for their faith in Jesus Christ. The ten plagues, brought down by Moses through the power of God, were meant to soften the hard heart of Pharaoh, who held the Israelites enslaved in Egypt.

“In terms of the number of people involved, the gravity of the crimes committed and their impact, it is clear that the persecution of Christians is today worse than at any time in history,” said John Pontifex, editor of the latest ACN biennial report on Christian persecution.

In the 13 countries where Christians suffer the most intense persecution, the situation has worsened in all but one—Saudi Arabia—in the last two years, and conditions there have stayed the same. 

“In almost all the countries reviewed,” the report reads, “the oppression and violence against Christians have increased since 2015 – a development especially significant given the rate of decline in the immediate run-up to the reporting period.”

Breitbart article continues here 

Why The Church Has Got To Start Caring About Persecuted Christians

The ruins of the Living Faith Church which was destroyed
 in an attack claimed by Boko Haram. Militants have
systematically targeted Christians and churches
since the uprising began in 2009

By Carey Lodge

Christian Today

Statistically, the worst place in the world to be a Christian is in North Korea. It has topped persecution charity Open Doors' annual World Watch List of countries where Christians face the harshest treatment for the past 14 years. Under dictator Kim Jong-Un, the government maintains absolute control through the systematic repression of its citizens.

More than 100,000 Christians are thought to be in hard labour camps, while tens of thousands of citizens have defected to countries such as neighbouring South Korea, China, Mongolia and Russia. A report released this week warned that documented incidents against Christians include "being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges and trampled underfoot".

However, surprisingly, Eddie Lyle – president of Open Doors UK and Ireland – says North Korea is not actually the most difficult country for Christians to live out their faith. He gives that title to Nigeria, where he says the Church "is facing its Gethsemane".

"For the most part it stands alone and misunderstood. It has endured years of destruction, great human loss, and its people scattered. It's time for the Church around the world to hear not only their cries, but their screams for help, and for the support of the family of God around the world," he tells Christian Today.

Lyle was in Northern Nigeria in May this year, visiting Church leaders and pastors who have experienced extreme violence at the hands of Boko Haram – an Islamist group that has waged terror in Nigeria's northern states since 2009.

In April 2014, more than 200 Christian girls were abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno state, by Boko Haram militants. A few have managed to escape but 218 are still missing, believed to remain in captivity. A video released by the terrorist group in August showed dozens of the schoolgirls, one of whom begged the Nigerian government to free detained Boko Haram members in a prisoner swap.

The girls' capture was part of a wider Boko Haram campaign against education in Nigeria – its name means "Western (or non-Islamic) education is forbidden". More than 910 schools have been targeted, at least 611 teachers deliberately killed and another 1,900 forced to flee.

The fighting has sparked a largely unreported refugee crisis with an estimated 2.2 million people, including 1.4 million children, displaced. Only around 10 per cent are in government-recognized refugee camps where there is some schooling. The other 90 per cent are living with friends and family members with little or no access to education.

Christians are among the groups to have fared the worst. Last month, Boko Haram's new leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi vowed to eradicate Christianity in Nigeria. Militants will blow up "every church that we are able to reach... killing all of those who we find from the citizens of the cross", he said.

Story continues: christiantoday.com

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Iraq: Three Young Priests Ordained in Refugee Camp to Serve Persecuted Christians Who Fled ISIS

Tens of thousands of Christians fled to Erbil when
ISIS overran the Nineveh Plain in 2014

By Carey Lodge
Christian Today

Exactly two years since ISIS militants forced 50,000 Christians to flee Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, three young priests from the city were ordained in a refugee camp in Erbil, and want to bring hope to the persecuted.
Reuters

Around 1,500 people gathered in a church inside the Aishty 2 camp on Friday, where more than 5,000 people are living after being forced from their homes by Islamic State. Fr Roni Salim Momika, Fr Emad and Fr Petros were ordained as priests of the Syriac-Catholic Church.

"We left Qaraqosh during this time two years ago," Fr Momika told Catholic News Agency, adding that it has been a time of challenge and sadness for Christians in Iraq.

"Before it was a bad day because we became refugees and ISIS entered to Qaraqosh, but now this day became a good day because it's our ordination and we give hope to our people," he said.

Fr Momika has for the past two years been working with young people and women in the refugee camp, and hopes to continue his work there. He wants "to stand with the refugees," he said.
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His role, he added, is "to give Christ to the people", and instill "power, hope and courage" to Christians who have endured persecution and suffering at the hands of ISIS.

Before the militants overran the city in 2014, Qaraqosh was hope to Iraq's largest Christian community, with at least a quarter of the country's Christian population living in the city and its surrounding towns.

Website: christiantoday.com