austraLasia #3300
WORLD: 19 October 2013 -- We rejoice as Brother Stephen Sandor is beatified in Budapest's Cathedral today, as a Martyr for the Faith. We can also note Pope Francis' comment in his letter for World Mission Day (celebrated on 3rd Sunday in October since it was instituted in 1926):
I wish to say a word about those Christians who, in various parts of the world, experience difficulty in openly professing their faith and in enjoying the legal right to practice it in a worthy manner. They are our brothers and sisters, courageous witnesses - even more numerous than the martyrs of the early centuries - who endure with apostolic perseverance many contemporary forms of persecution. Quite a few also risk their lives to remain faithful to the Gospel of Christ. I wish to reaffirm my closeness in prayer to individuals, families and communities who suffer violence and intolerance, and I repeat to them the consoling words of Jesus: "Take courage, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).
It helps connect the dots between our Brother Sandor who suffered for the faith and todays' courageous witnesses. The Aid to the Church in Need Report for the period 2011-2103 has just been published (you can get it from one of the above links) goes a step further in helping us fill in the dots in this case. It is a lengthy report, so here we can provide jsut a few indicators, especially of how it differes from the last report (2009-2011).
The Report names 30 countries around the world demonstrating how Christianity is "the most persecuted religion in the world", with an estimated 100 million Christians (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) under some form of persecution. Of these, seven countries within EAO are named. In the previous report there were eight - one has been removed (Philippines). Of the seven, it is interesting that just one of these (Laos) is indicated as having a slightly improved situation. The Report also cites the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as saying that "North Korea remains one of the world’s most repressive regimes, where severe religious freedom abuses continue", following that up with the comment that there is no permanent Catholic cleric in the country.
Each country named is provided with a set of facts and figures as background to the analysis, which includes incident reports and a number of criteria by which they judge that Christians in that country are 'persecuted or fogotten' (which they leave as a question mark, pointing out that they cannot provide a comprehensive survey nor therefore a comprehensive answer). These criteria include such things as evidence of anti-Christian violence (churches, homes, businesses), court cases (e.g. blasphemy laws), political developments (e.g. Decree 92 Vietnam), and social changes (e.g. access to education, health).
They summarise the main issues under five key headings: Arab Spring-Christian Winter where for the first time in history it is possible that Christianity could virtually disappear from certain countries; Militant Islamism (with a shifted focus to Africa); Majority Religion targetting Minority Religion (they name Buddhism), Communist vs Christianity, and Socialist State - signs of hope and signs of hopelessness (Laos is maybe the one sign of hope). In fact it is the last three of these that touch on the seven named countries in our region.
The Report is worth reading through in detail. For most of the named countries in our region it is a case of a 'mixed bag' - good signs and bad ones, some shifts in the right direction, but continuation and even worsening of earlier conditions in some cases. Militant Islamism might have once seemed largely confined to certain areas, but it is now named as "an inter-continental threat', and does touch our region.
All sources are indicated.
WORLD: 19 October 2013 -- We rejoice as Brother Stephen Sandor is beatified in Budapest's Cathedral today, as a Martyr for the Faith. We can also note Pope Francis' comment in his letter for World Mission Day (celebrated on 3rd Sunday in October since it was instituted in 1926):
I wish to say a word about those Christians who, in various parts of the world, experience difficulty in openly professing their faith and in enjoying the legal right to practice it in a worthy manner. They are our brothers and sisters, courageous witnesses - even more numerous than the martyrs of the early centuries - who endure with apostolic perseverance many contemporary forms of persecution. Quite a few also risk their lives to remain faithful to the Gospel of Christ. I wish to reaffirm my closeness in prayer to individuals, families and communities who suffer violence and intolerance, and I repeat to them the consoling words of Jesus: "Take courage, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).
It helps connect the dots between our Brother Sandor who suffered for the faith and todays' courageous witnesses. The Aid to the Church in Need Report for the period 2011-2103 has just been published (you can get it from one of the above links) goes a step further in helping us fill in the dots in this case. It is a lengthy report, so here we can provide jsut a few indicators, especially of how it differes from the last report (2009-2011).
The Report names 30 countries around the world demonstrating how Christianity is "the most persecuted religion in the world", with an estimated 100 million Christians (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) under some form of persecution. Of these, seven countries within EAO are named. In the previous report there were eight - one has been removed (Philippines). Of the seven, it is interesting that just one of these (Laos) is indicated as having a slightly improved situation. The Report also cites the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as saying that "North Korea remains one of the world’s most repressive regimes, where severe religious freedom abuses continue", following that up with the comment that there is no permanent Catholic cleric in the country.
Each country named is provided with a set of facts and figures as background to the analysis, which includes incident reports and a number of criteria by which they judge that Christians in that country are 'persecuted or fogotten' (which they leave as a question mark, pointing out that they cannot provide a comprehensive survey nor therefore a comprehensive answer). These criteria include such things as evidence of anti-Christian violence (churches, homes, businesses), court cases (e.g. blasphemy laws), political developments (e.g. Decree 92 Vietnam), and social changes (e.g. access to education, health).
They summarise the main issues under five key headings: Arab Spring-Christian Winter where for the first time in history it is possible that Christianity could virtually disappear from certain countries; Militant Islamism (with a shifted focus to Africa); Majority Religion targetting Minority Religion (they name Buddhism), Communist vs Christianity, and Socialist State - signs of hope and signs of hopelessness (Laos is maybe the one sign of hope). In fact it is the last three of these that touch on the seven named countries in our region.
The Report is worth reading through in detail. For most of the named countries in our region it is a case of a 'mixed bag' - good signs and bad ones, some shifts in the right direction, but continuation and even worsening of earlier conditions in some cases. Militant Islamism might have once seemed largely confined to certain areas, but it is now named as "an inter-continental threat', and does touch our region.
All sources are indicated.
