‘It is nothing short of genocide,’ USCCB president says of persecution in the Middle East

November 17, 2015

As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops gathered for its annual fall meeting, the conference’s president issued a statement on persecuted Christians.

“Places of worship that have stood for centuries in the very cradle of Christianity are being destroyed,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville said. “Families are fleeing from beheadings, sexual slavery and even crucifixion. In places such as Mosul, Christmas bells that have heralded the birth of our Savior uninterrupted for nearly two thousand years have fallen silent as our brothers and sisters in the faith have been scattered. It is nothing short of genocide.”

Archbishop Kurtz called upon Catholics in the United States to pray for persecuted Christians, to support organizations that assist them, and to “make their cause our own and ensure they are never forgotten by the powerful in a position to protect them.”

 

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Further information:

• Statement Of USCCB President Joseph E. Kurtz (USCCB)