To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
This Will Happen to Rome's Colosseum Later This Month, to Remember Persecuted Christians around the World"We invite everyone to attend, either in person or in spirit, on February 24, 2018 at around 6 p.m. in Largo Gaetana Agnesi, Rome." -spokesperson for Aid to the Church in Need
On Saturday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m. the Colosseum will be spotlighted in red, to represent the blood of Christians who have been wounded or lost their lives due to religious persecution, according to Crux. Simultaneously, in Syria and Iraq, prominent churches will be illuminated with red lights. In Aleppo, the St. Elijah Maronite Cathedral will be lit, and in Mosul, the Church of St. Paul, where this past Dec. 24, the first Mass was celebrated after the city's liberation from ISIS. The event, sponsored by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) follows a similar initiative last year, which lit-up London's Parliament building in red, as well as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris and the cathedral in Manila, Philippines. In 2016, the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome was lit. Alessandro Monteduro, director of ACN, told journalists on Feb. 7 that the "illumination [of the Colosseum] will have two symbolic figures: Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian condemned to death for blasphemy and whose umpteenth judgment is expected to revoke the sentence; and Rebecca, a girl kidnapped by Boko Haram along with her two children when she was pregnant with a third." "One of the children was killed," he said, "she lost the baby she was carrying, and then became pregnant after one of the many brutalities she was subjected to by her captors." Once she was freed and reunited with her husband, she decided she "could not hate those who caused her so much pain," Monteduro said. Aid to the Church in Need released a biennial report on anti-Christian persecution Oct. 12, 2017, detailing how Christianity is "the world's most oppressed faith community," and how anti-Christian persecution in the worst regions has reached "a new peak." The report reviewed 13 countries, and concluded that in all but one, the situation for Christians was worse in overall terms for the period 2015-2017 than during the prior two years. "The one exception is Saudi Arabia, where the situation was already so bad it could scarcely get any worse," the report said. China, Eritrea, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Syria were ranked "extreme" in the scale of anti-Christian persecution. Egypt, India, and Iran were rated "high to extreme," while Turkey was rated "moderate to high." The Middle East was a major focus for the report.
The exodus of Christians from Iraq has been "very severe." Christians in the country now may number as few as 150,000, a decline from 275,000 in mid-2015. By spring 2017 there were some signs of hope, with the defeat of the Islamic State group and the return of some Christians to their homes on the Nineveh Plains. The departure of Christians from Syria has also threatened the survival of their communities in the country, including historic Christian centers like Aleppo, ACN said. Syrian Christians there suffer threats of forced conversion and extortion. One Chaldean bishop in the country estimates the Christian population to be at 500,000, down from 1.2 million before the war. Many Christians in the region fear going to official refugee camps, due to concerns about rape and other violence, according to the report. ACN also discussed the genocide committed in Syria and Iraq by the Islamic State and other militants. While ISIS and other groups have lost their major strongholds, ACN said that many Christian groups are threatened with extinction and would likely not survive another attack. A spokesperson for Aid to the Church in Need, said, "We invite everyone to attend, either in person or in spirit, on February 24, 2018 at around 6 p.m. in Largo Gaetana Agnesi, Rome."
To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News Many Are Escaping Iran, and 'Hundreds Have Come to Faith in Jesus Christ' in the Process Netanyahu: 'No Law' Will Pass in Knesset That 'Harms Christianity' COVID in the 2030s: How Endless Booster Shots Will Devastate the Health of Our Children Federal Agency Contradicts Biden, Says Student Loan Cancellation Not in Effect Daily Signal Exclusive: GOP Bill Would Make Abortionists Report Victims of Trafficking Is This the Bombshell Evidence That Destroyed Bragg's Case against Trump? Ugandan Parliament Passes 'Anti-Homosexuality Bill,' Infuriating the Pro-LGBT West 'Cusp of Great Spiritual Awakening': Pastors Report Fresh 'Fire' in Wake of Methodist Mass Exodus Wyoming Bans Gender-Confused Male Students from Competing in Girls' Sports—However... Missouri Issues Emergency Rule Restricting 'Inhumane Science Experiments' on Children Give Him 15: A Deluge Is Coming 'I Just Want to Feel Like Myself,' Tearfully Admits America's Most Famous 'Trans Kid' Jazz Jennings Franklin Graham Praises DeSantis for Drag Show Kid Crackdown: 'Doesn't Mess Around' Search the Articles Archives |
All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.
Home | Store | Subscribe | Facebook | Article Archive |