Christian Persecution

I will share news stories about Christian persecution here:

The atmosphere in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square turned from celebratory to somber as Pope Francis devoted his address Monday to the bleak subject that has occupied most of his recent remarks.

“Our brothers and our sisters … are persecuted, exiled, slain, beheaded, solely for being Christian,” he said, his expression tense, his cadence slow but deliberate.

From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/07/has-the-world-looked-the-other-way-while-christians-are-killed/

This news is a couple days old, but it's still important:

In a year when Passover and Holy Week fall on the calendar together, at a time when religious persecution is rising around the globe, the themes of freedom and liberation are in the forefront of many believers’ minds, even when they are not at the top of the news.

“There really isn’t a lot being said about the persecutions, for whatever reason,” said the Rev. Anthony Sciorra of Sacred Heart University, speaking before Al-Shabab gunmen killed 147 people Thursday at a Kenyan university.

From: http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20150402/religious-persecution-on-rise-as-jews-christians-prepare-for-holy-celebrations

or his 7th birthday, Jacob Abedini wanted nothing more than to have his father celebrate his birthday with him, and he even sent his father a personal invitation for his party at home. But his father Pastor Saeed is sadly locked up in Iran because of his Christian faith.

To make up for missing his son's birthday, Pastor Saeed wrote a touching yet heartbreaking letter to Jacob, explaining that "my chains are keeping me from you." He passed the letter on to one of his family members when they visited him in prison, according to the American Center for Law and Justice.

From: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/my.chains.are.keeping.me.from.you.writes.pastor.saeed.to.his.son/50092.htm

Christians must stand with those being persecuted by Islamic State in the Middle East, and remember that God weeps alongside those who are suffering, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

From: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/justin.welby.to.persecuted.christians.god.feels.our.suffering.our.horror.our.sadness/51838.htm

Every presidential candidate should meet persecuted Christians.

From: http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/2015/04/08/lopez-persecuted-christians-abroad-have-lessons-for-us-all/aw1drli/

At the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast this week, President Obama addressed a room full of Christian leaders. What was clearly scripted to be a general Easter address came dangerously close to political posturing. During his remarks, the President shared that, “on Easter, I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian...

From: http://townhall.com/columnists/joshuaholdenried/2015/04/09/preventing-christian-persecution-a-failed-foreign-policy-n1983097/page/full

There are few places on earth where Christianity is as old as it is in Iraq. Christians there trace their history to the first century apostles. But today, their existence has been threatened by the terrorist group that calls itself Islamic State.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-christians-persecuted-by-isis-60-minutes/