Please, share! From my dearest friend Stephanie Seiba: My Iraqi Christian Plea Friends, For those of you who may not already know, my parents are immigrants from that ancient community of northern Iraq; Chaldeans (Eastern Rite Catholics) from the plains of Nineveh of the Old Testament. We still speak Aramaic as Jesus did a language now almost dead. For the last thirteen centuries, the number of Christians in Iraq has continued to diminish as Islam has converted its inhabitants under threat of the sword. Now, with less than 1% Christian population in Iraq, genocide is taking place. The United States has moved to drop aid to the Yazidis in the mountains (another ancient faith that is a cross between Islam and Christianity), but the Christians are overlooked, marginalized, and avoided as has been common over the last decade. “He told us that we would be hated and persecuted because of Him,” sobbed the grief stricken Iraqi Christian woman being interviewed. She is one of tens of thousands of refugees now starving, dehydrated, and living in the streets of supposed “safe zones” in Northern Iraq. Unwilling to renounce Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, it will be the crucifix around her neck that will eventually seal her grizzly fate. As you may already know, on July 18th ISIS militants issued a warning to all Christian villages in Northern Iraq that Christians who refused to convert to Islam would no longer be tolerated. Keep in mind that Iraq has been home to Christianity since St. Thomas the Apostle who, when on his journey to India following the resurrection, established the church there two thousand years ago. It was not until almost 600 years later that Mohammad and Islam came into existence. Since it is widely understood that our current administration has no love for the church, their lack of response in this crisis is expected. More disappointing and disheartening however has been the lack of outcry by American Christians who have been surprisingly quiet. Sadly, it seems there was more Christian indignation about the Duck Dynasty controversy than for these Iraqi brothers and sisters in Christ in spite of the constant attention that Pope Francis has tried to bring to the subject. After the horror of the holocaust we said “Never again.” We have memorials of that evil period in museums and throughout popular culture that reminds us of the price paid by our Jewish brethren. Our excuse then was that we simply didn’t know what was happening, didn’t grasp the extent of it. Make no mistake: widespread social media providing real time coverage of this crisis will provide us with no such excuse this time. Their extermination as a result of our apathy will be inexcusable. For those who may have seen “For Greater Glory,” you will remember that it was in large part due to the pressure from the American Knights of Columbus’ on our Ambassador to Mexico that eventually helped broker an end to the church’s persecution in 1930s Mexico. America has always prided itself on being on the side of freedom and religious liberty. To that end, there is no doubt that America can again make a difference in an area where the church is being persecuted. Over the past decade, Iraqi Christians have placed themselves in danger of persecution each time they have entered a church. What can we do as people of faith now to help them? 1. Please urge your fellow Christians, pastors, and parishes to join the Catholic bishops in the U.S. in a day of prayer for peace on August 17 (and in daily prayer). By virtue of the power of the rosary, the Blessed Mother is our greatest intercessor for peace. 2. Contact your U.S. congressman and senators and urge them to take action on behalf of Christians in Iraq. There is an immediate need for food, water, and shelter, and a greater need for future placement of these Christian communities. 3. Forward this email to as many people as possible. Most of the churches, monasteries, and convents have already been desecrated and destroyed. Unless we act swiftly, it will be as though Jesus Christ, two millennia’s worth of Iraqi Christians, and every symbol of their faith will be completely obliterated from Iraq and it’s history. A Deafening Silence as Iraqi Christians Vanish breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/25863 Your Sister in Christ, Stephanie Seiba
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 00:41:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015