Editorial

Calling Slaughter of Christians, Others What It Is

Posted

Count us to add our support to the religious leaders, members of Congress and presidential candidates from both parties calling on Secretary of State John Kerry to formally condemn the slaughter of Christians and other minority religious groups in the Middle East.

Facing a deadline this month, Kerry must decide whether to make a formal declaration of genocide over atrocities committed by Islamic State (ISIS) in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq.

Pressure increased this week with a statement from the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., that “the very future of the ancient Christian presence in the Middle East is at stake.”

The archbishop urged Catholics to sign a petition sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the organization In Defense of Christians at www.stopthechristiangenocide.org.

Online since late February, the petition says America must “end its silence against ongoing genocide” against Christians and other minority groups.

Cardinal Dolan was an early signer of the petition, as were Archbishops Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia and Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, along with many other Church leaders.

On the campaign trail, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have called the situation genocide, and a resolution supporting a formal declaration overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives on Monday by a vote of 393-0.

We know, of course, that genocide is not a term to be tossed around lightly, and that there are specific legal criteria to be met before such a determination is made.

We’d like to point out that the European Parliament made a declaration of genocide in the Middle East on Feb. 4, as did Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill at their historic meeting Feb. 12.

The online petition cites as evidence of genocide the assassinations of church leaders, mass murders and deportations, torture, kidnapping for ransom, forcible conversions to Islam, and the sexual enslavement and systematic rape of girls and women, as well as destruction of Christian churches, monasteries, cemeteries and artifacts.

The news articles we’ve seen in recent weeks, backed up by some brave enterprise reporting, seem to bear out this horrendous scenario.

“With each passing day, the roll of modern martyrs grows,” Archbishop Kurtz said.

Indeed, it does.

Meanwhile, as we approach Holy Week, we can each take concrete action by supporting the worldwide collection for the Christians of the Holy Land taken in churches each year on Good Friday, including churches in the Archdiocese of New York.

Sponsored by the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches, the collection aims to rekindle hope by looking beyond the evil surrounding Christians in that troubled part of the world – and reminding us of the redemption that’s the heart of our faith.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the congregation, tells us that in this Jubilee year it is more important than ever to “demonstrate our mercy and solicitude for our brothers in the Middle East.”

God is not indifferent to their plight, he tells us. We should not be either.