"Persecuted and Forgotten?" - Aid to the Church in Need's special Mass and book launch

Further to my previous post (here), in which some of the wonderful items on offer at the Aid to the Church in Need online shop (here) were highlighted, I thought I'd mention a forthcoming ACN event. On Thursday 17 March Aid to the Church in Need will be launching the 2011 edition of its report on Christians oppressed for their faith, called Persecuted and Forgotten? This event will begin with a Mass in Westminster Cathedral at 5:30pm, which will be celebrated by Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil (Iraq) and Archbishop Vincent Nichols. The book will be launched in the Cathedral's Hall after Mass, at 7:00pm. For more details, please see here.

I received my copy of this year's Persecuted and Forgotten? yesterday. It is an extremely valuable resource for those who are concerned about the widespread persecution of Christians around the world. The book contains many detailed reports from such places as Algeria, Burma, China, Eritrea, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. It also profiles some brave men and women who are currently proclaiming the Good News under extremely difficult situations - such as Archbishop Amil Nona of Mosul, Iraq. As ever, Aid to the Church in Need is concerned for the welfare of Christians from all denominations - even though the charity is mainly funded by members of the Catholic Church.

Only acts of violence motivated by "religious intolerance" are recorded in Persecuted and Forgotten? Bearing this in mind, it is quite shocking to realise how many of our brothers and sisters are being killed, tortured or imprisoned for their faith in Christ even in the 21st century. We are clearly living in an age of martyrs, far greater in number that those witnesses whose blood was spilt under the likes of Diocletian. Yet, as John Pontifex says in the book's introduction, "what most distresses the bishops, priests, Sisters and lay people we know so well is that the West is seemingly indifferent to the suffering of the faithful."

Persecuted and Forgotten? also charts the rise of fundamentalist Islam, pointing out that all groups - including Muslim ones - are potential targets of attacks at the hands of this disturbing phenomenon. Islamists, though, especially those unable to directly target the West, mainly choose to turn their fire on Christians who live amongst them. Because of this, many countries in the Middle East have witnessed a "mass exodus" of Christians - most of whom have deeper roots in places like Iraq than do other faiths, such as Islam.

Christians are not only persecuted in Islamic nations, as the report points out: "in non-Muslim countries too there have been manifest signs of increasing radicalisation of religious groups and a corresponding growing antipathy to Christianity." Both anti-Christian Hindu and Buddhist extremists are on the rise in south-east Asia, whilst 'socialist', Communist, or authoritarian regimes in North Korea, China and parts of Latin America continue to actively persecute the Church.

As recently as last year, the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community reported that at least 75% of religious persecution was aimed at Christians. And Pope Benedict XVI himself has called for an end to persecution against the followers of Jesus Christ. In his Message for World Peace Day 2011, the Pope said:

"Many Christians experience daily affronts and often live in fear because of their pursuit of truth, their faith in Jesus Christ and their heartfelt plea for respect for religious freedom. This situation is unacceptable because it represents an insult to God and to human dignity."

In light of this, I agree with John Pontifex, when he says in the introduction to Persecuted and Forgotten?: "Silence and inaction are inexcusable." Aid to the Church in Need believes that the best form of action is the fruit of prayer - and it encourages people to pray for the persecuted, as well as working for their relief and aid.

ACN fulfils about 5,000 projects in 140 countries every year - projects that range from distributing bibles to building churches and helping refugees. It is a charity well worth our support, which is one reason I intend - please God - to be at the "Persecuted and Forgotten" Mass on 17 March. Why don't you try and come along, too?