Stirrings on anti-Christian persecution

A delegation of Hungarian diplomats and politicians was in Rome for meetings with Vatican officials, two weeks ago.

Dec 02, 2016

By John L. Allen Jr
A delegation of Hungarian diplomats and politicians was in Rome for meetings with Vatican officials, two weeks ago. Their group was led by Bence Rétvári, Hungary’s Vice Minister for Human Capacities.

Among the delegates was Hungary’s Deputy State Secretary for Assisting Persecuted Christians. This special portfolio makes Hungary, to date, the only country in the world to have a position in their foreign ministry specifically devoted to anti-Christian persecution.

In this new effort, the Hungarians wanted to drum up Vatican support, for Hungary is doing something that no other state in the world is doing

The delegation had meetings with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches; and also Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, former Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva.

“Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, so why are there no other governments that want to help them?”

“Christians (in the Middle East) are discriminated against doubly, first, because they are hit by the war, and second, because they are Christians,” Rétvári said.

“Religious freedom, as guaranteed in international treaties, is not always respected, and in some cases, people face death for refusing to abandon their religion. There are communities that have existed for more than 2,000 years that are facing extinction.

“We’re like a brother who sees that his sister’s house is on fire,” he said, “and we need to go put out the fire and then help rebuild the house.”

Rétvári said the initiative has three immediate priorities:

--To use Hungary’s status as a member state of international bodies such as the United Nations, the European Union and the International Criminal Court to pursue criminal indictments of perpetrators of anti-Christian violence and acts of genocide.

-- To raise awareness about the global dimensions of anti-Christian persecution.

--To build projects such as hospitals and schools in the regions affected by the violence.

“As a Christian, I think everyone is touched when seeing other Christians in trouble,” he said. “In the Western world, the Christians have become too comfortable. They often can’t even find the time to go to Mass on Sunday, but there are others who risk their lives for their religion.”

Hungary may be alone so far in terms of having a specific department for anti-Christian persecution, but its decision reflects mounting awareness among governments generally, that Christians need help, right now especially in the Middle East.

The Hungarian delegation, through a Rome-based Chaldean priest named Fr Rebwar Basa, highlighted the need for help with a gripping overview of the devastation of Iraqi Christians at the hands of the Islamic State.

Among other things, Fr Basa told the stories of several Iraqi priests who’ve been killed — chillingly, he would just casually toss in, “he was at my ordination,” or “he was my parish priest as a kid,” providing a reminder of how profoundly personal these horrors are for the country’s Christian population.

However, the Hungarian delegation’s initiative may not be a game-changer. Still, change has to start someplace, and at least the above two developments from the past week suggest that something is stirring and this alone is giving the Christians who are in the firing line some glimmer of hope.--Crux Now

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