'Complicit silence' of world powers allows persecution of Christians, Pope says
September 07, 2015
Pope Francis slammed the “complicit silence” of world powers that could intervene to stop the persecution of Christians, in his homily at morning Mass on September 7.
Concelebrating the Eucharistic liturgy with Armenian Catholic Patriarch Gregory Peter XX Ghabroyan, the Pontiff recalled that the Armenian people suffered “one of the great persecutions” in the early 20th century, when there were “persecuted, chased away from their homeland, helpless, in the desert.”
Persecution is a constant in Church history, the Pope observed. In fact, he said, “there is no Christianity without persecution.” But in our era, persecution is even more common than it was for the early Church. The Holy Father remarked on the horrible violence by terrorists. “We think of the Egyptian martyrs, recently, on the Libyan coast, who were slaughtered while pronouncing the name of Jesus.”
During the Mass, the Pope shared Communion with the new Armenian Patriarch, confirming the full communion of the Armenian Catholic Church with the Holy See. The Pope had extended his recognition to Patriarch Gregory Peter XX in July, shortly after he was elected by the Synod of Bishops of the Armenian Church to succeed Patriarch Nerses Peter XIX Tarmouni, who died late in June.
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Further information:
- Pope slams continued martyrdom of many Christians "amid complicit silence of many powers that could stop it" (AsiaNews)
- Francis condemns complicit silence over Christian persecution (Vatican Insider)
- Enthronement of new Armenian Catholic patriarch (CWN, 8/17)
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Posted by: TheJournalist64 -
Sep. 07, 2015 7:33 PM ET USA
Perhaps the violence of this ISIS crowd will finally cause a reduction of the stupid railing by the Culture of death against the Crusades. If there were any common sense in the world, that is.
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Sep. 07, 2015 12:50 PM ET USA
If any in the West were to say or act against the persecution of Christians in Arab and African lands, they would be called "Crusaders." That just wouldn't do, given the intrinsic evil of the Crusades. So goes the popular argument against standing up to evil in our time. The reality is that whether we act or not, we are indeed called Crusaders by the Saracen horde. With a few deplorable exceptions, great good resulted from the Crusades; e.g. the Hospitallers, a land route to Jerusalem, et al.
