At the IDC Conference – Washington D.C.

The Maronite Servants participated in the 6^thannual In Defense of Christians (IDC) Conference in Washington, D.C. on September 10-11.  IDC was founded in 2014 in response to the tidal wave of violence towards Christians in the Middle East. One of the main goals of IDC is to advocate for policies that preserve Christianity in its ancient homeland.

The IDC Leadership Conference commenced on the evening of September 10^thwith the Solidarity Dinner featuring a number of congressmen, ambassadors, dignitaries and religious leaders, among them our own Bishop, His Excellency Gregory Mansour. We heard from Mr. Samuel Brownback, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. Mr. Brownback encouraged all participants to keep up the fight for religious freedom, predominantly through constant prayer, as God is the source of all freedom and unity. 

Towards the close of the evening, we heard a moving and poignant testimonial by Mrs. Mona Rizk Rowan who shared her harrowing story of surviving the Damour Massacre in Lebanon 1976. 

The next day on September 11, the sisters joined Mr. Steven Howard from IDC and the Massachusetts constituents, among them were Mrs. Rowan and her family, to advocate for the Coptic Christians in Egypt and recognition of the Armenian Genocide.  We visited the offices of Congressmen William Keating, and Joseph Kennedy, as well as, the office of Senator Elizabeth Warren.  

These were two very grace-filled days for us, as we witnessed to the importance of religious freedom in the Middle East and provided a voice for the voiceless. We are grateful to the President of IDC, Mr. Toufic Baaklini and his dedicated Board of Directors for their ongoing efforts of fighting for equality, freedom and security for religious minorities in the Middle East. 

Adoration and Supper – Mother of Light Convent

On Sunday evening, February 25, the Maronite Servants hosted an ‘Adoration and Supper’ to raise awareness and offer prayers for persecuted Christians. The meal, in keeping with a spirit of sacrifice, was simple – soup, and donations were collected for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in their mission with persecuted Christians. It was a beautiful evening of prayer, reflection, and fellowship.

This will be a monthly initiative hosted by the sisters.  The next ‘Adoration &  Supper’ will be on April 22 at 5PM. For those interested in attending please email sister@maroniteservants.org or call 508/996-1753.

Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians

Our U.S. Bishops have asked for a “Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians” on Sunday November 26 to help people to reflect on the importance of religious freedom and being in prayerful solidarity with the plight of our suffering brothers and sisters in the world. 

The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light in our Saint Maron Chapel Convent (856 Tucker Rd Dartmouth MA) is open on Sunday November 26 from 2:00PM to 5:00PM. We will have exposition of the Most Holy Mysteries. We invite you to stop by and join us for prayer in our chapel. #SufferingInSolidarity 

Please consider dropping by for a few minutes or an hour of adoration.

Also, if you are are interested in resources to share on Christian persecution and religious freedom such as homily notes, prayers, recommended Aid agencies and materials for your parish, families, schools or youth and young adult ministry please visit www.usccb.org/middle-east-Christians 

"We must not resign ourselves to thinking of a Middle East without Christians, who for 2,000 years have confessed the name of Jesus, and have been fully integrated as citizens into the social, cultural and religious life of the nations to which they belong." -Pope Francis, 21 November 2013

Report Showing Irrefutable Evidence of Genocide Against Christians by ISIS

IDC and Knights of Columbus Release Historic Report Showing Irrefutable Evidence of Genocide Against Christians by ISIS

Washington, D.C.--In Defense of Christians (IDC) and the Knights of Columbus released an extensive report this morning chronicling the genocide of Christians in territories controlled by the Islamic State (ISIS) and its affiliates. The nearly 300-page report, “Genocide against Christians in the Middle East”, resulted from a State Department request for specific evidence related to crimes committed against Christians by ISIS. Submitted to Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday, the report was compiled from evidence of a recent fact finding mission to Iraq, which documented the murder, injury, enslavement and displacement that Christians have suffered at the hands of ISIS. The announcement of the report’s release was made at a packed National Press Club conference and included a panel of representatives from IDC, the Knights of Columbus and other esteemed scholars and activists as well as Christian clergy from United Kingdom and Iraq. Ahead of the press conference IDC’s President Toufic Baaklini said, “A genocide designation by the United States cannot wait any longer. The atrocities that commenced nearly two years ago have been broadcast to the world, and the United States still stands silent as the international community and the American people continue to raise their voice. To date nearly 65,000 Americans including a number of high-profile public figures have signed the ‘Stop the Christian Genocide’ petition launched by IDC and the Knights of Columbus.” Baaklini continued that “It is time for the United States join the rest of the world by naming the genocide and by taking action against it as required by law.” Read Baaklini’s full statement here. The panelists also urged President Obama and Secretary Kerry to officially designate the crimes being committed by ISIS against Christians as genocide. So far, the administration and State have been resistant to do so, said Nina Shea, Director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom. “Some State Department officials seem to believe that Christians within ISIS territory are being respected as people of ‘the Book’,” stated Shea. As the report demonstrates, ISIS adheres to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and believes that Christians don’t qualify for the historic protection offered by Islamic law. The notion that Christians are being given the option to pay the jizya tax is ISIS propaganda. Christians cannot pay a tax when everything they have has been taken by ISIS or when the price is extortionately high, sometimes up to and including one’s own children, as Johnnie Moore, author of ‘Defying ISIS,’ described. It is used by ISIS as a license to rape, enslave, and pillage. Shea further stated, “At the same time the Secretary of State’s staff has contacted our organization and asked for a deal on word-smithing, asking if it would be possible to designate ISIS’ actions as ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity rather than genocide.” The panelists decried such word-smithing, vehemently reiterating that genocide is happening and the importance of using the ‘g-word’. They also pointed to evidence in the report, which includes the names of the more than 1130 Christians that have been murdered in Iraq from 2003 through June 2014. “The report has unearthed many stories that the world has not heard,” Baaklini said in his statement announcing the release. “Like the story of Christian women who have been forced into sexual slavery and listed on ISIS slave menus that put a price on ‘Christian or Yazidi’ women by age.” Baaklini continued, “Stories of women like Claudia, who was captured and raped several times after ISIS militants spotted her tattoo of a cross. Or like Khalia who fought ISIS militants off as they tried to rape captive girls and take a nine year old as a bride.” Panelists who have recently visited the region described wholescale and systemic elimination of Christian practice as well as the genocidal crimes they witnessed. “I went to Iraq three weeks ago and met a three-year-old girl whom ISIS members had thrown against a wall. She can no longer talk. Where was her father? He had been murdered as he was a Christian,” stated Juliana Taimoorazy, an Assyrian Christian and president of Iraqi Christian Relief Council. “At the same time I am witnessing the complete elimination of my nation, the Assyrian nation which is over 7000 years old, one of the first nations to convert to Christianity over 2000 years ago, though the ministry of St. Thomas the apostle. My language, Aramaic, the language of Jesus will be erased and no longer heard.” Shea affirmed Taimoorazy’s description of the crisis.  “There are no open churches, priests or clergy in ISIS territory and no right to practice,” Shea stated. And Father Dankha, a priest from Erbil, said that if the “United States waits any longer to designate the genocide none of my people will be left.” Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church held up the report showing the audience the cover photo of the 21 Coptic Christian men who were beheaded by ISIS in Libya, lamenting the loss of his fellow believers, and said that “if we exclude Christians from the genocide designation we risk putting them at greater risk.” Dr. Gregory Stanton, president of Genocide Watch and former president of the International Association for Genocide Scholars, reiterated that ISIS’ actions must be identified as genocide, not only because it is true but also because of the impact of the word itself.  “The word ‘genocide’ packs moral force and requires action from our government, which seems unwilling to truly confront ISIS,” said Stanton.  He continued “We refused to use the word in Rwanda and it resulted in 800,000 victims of genocide. Yet when we used the word with regards to Kosovo and Bosnia, swift international action followed, which ended the killing.” Professor Robert Destro supported Stanton’s position. “What we have is genocide denial,” said Destro. “It happened in the 1930s, it happened in Cambodia, in Darfur and Rwanda. How long will it take for genocide to be declared in this case?”   Panelists included Bishop Anba Angaelos of theCoptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom; Father Douglas al-Bazi, former hostage, now a priest at Mar Elia Refugee Camp in Erbil, Iraq;  Prof. Bob Destro, Senior Law and Policy Advisor, In Defense of Christians; Johnnie Moore, Author of ‘Defying ISIS’ ; Nina Shea, Director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom; Prof. Gregory Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch; Juliana Taimoorazy, Founder and President, Iraqi Christian Relief Council; and Rev. Dankha Joola of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil, Iraq.

A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO ISIS FROM THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

By His Excellency, Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, Eparchy of St. Maron, Brooklyn

It is called the “Teaching” Gospel because Matthew arranged the words of Jesus in an orderly manner.  For all who love the Word of God, this Gospel is for you! But beware, it also has some very difficult advice on ISIS.

Our brothers and sisters, Syrian refugees. 

In chapters 5 through 7 the most challenging of our Lord’s teaching shines through: the Beatitudes; the teaching on marriage; and the teaching against revenge.  It is here that we are close to the very words of Jesus himself, unfiltered and powerful.  Saving his other teachings on the sanctity of marriage, and the imperative of the Beatitudes to go beyond the letter of the law, let us take up our Lord’s teaching on retaliation, which is a clear window into his very personal response to the hatred and evil of his day, which he himself endured.  This teaching against retaliation is sincere, because he lived it himself, and he asked all who desire to follow him, to live it as well.

The words and stories that Jesus uses to describe his teaching are very much his own.  “You have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but what I say is offer no resistance.”  He did not mean to be passive in front of evil; in fact, he himself was not passive. Instead he meant very clearly that we not fight evil with evil.  Jesus asks us to follow him, to be like him, to love like him, even our enemies, and to do well even to those who do evil. He invites us to resist like he did; not in the usual way, but rather in a creative way; and for this he gave us three very unique examples.

We know his examples as:  “turn the other check,” “go the extra mile,” and “give the shirt on your back.”  These expressions are based on popular parlance, because this is how we have watered down his teaching.  But what Jesus actually said is very different!

He did not say “turn the other cheek;” he said, “if someone strikes you on the right cheek offer him the left.” A strike on the right cheek could only be done as a back-handed slap, sending a clear signal that the one slapping is superior, and the one receiving the slap is inferior.  For Jesus this was not acceptable, he asked us to be defiant in the face of such cruelty, and not accept an inferior status, but rather demand that the oppressor strike us again, but this time as an equal!  Let us not forget how Jesus stood before Pontius Pilot, as an equal, even though the Roman leader claimed to have “power” over him. 

...CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE ON THE BISHOP'S BLOG

In Defense of Christians

Please get involved and speak for our persecuted brothers and sisters.  Go to In Defense of Christians for more information and ways you can help.

Weakened and Impoverished

Weakened and Impoverished, We Entered the Fourth Week of Displacement

Yet, there is nothing promising at all. The Iraqi government has not done anything to   regain the Christian towns back from the IS. Likewise, the Kurdish government, apart from allowing us to enter their province, has not offered any aid, financial or material, leaving us in the streets, and making the church take full responsibility of us all. Thanks to the Church of Iraq in Kurdistan, who opened their halls and centres to provide shelters. Yet, the number of refugees was so large that the Kurdish government had to face the stark reality and open their schools to provide additional shelter for refugees.

We hear a lot about world governments and organizations sending financial aid to Iraq, but the refugee gets the least –we do not know or understand why. People lost almost everything; they cannot even afford to buy milk or formula for their children. What saddens us most is that, only one month ago, these people were the most educated in the country and among those most likely to build a life for themselves and their family, and now they do not have enough money in their pockets to survive the day. Christians became accustomed to investing their money in businesses, shops, fields, buildings…etc, to build their communities. Leaving their towns meant leaving everything they had been working for all their lives. Yet, amidst losing everything, accepting their lost dignity, is the most difficult loss they may experience.  continue reading 

Speak Up Against the Violence in Iraq...

Bishop Gregory J. Mansour speaks on the violence against Christians in Iraq.

Also, the USCCB issued this article:

Bishop Pates Urges National Security Advisor Rice To Provide Humanitarian Assistance, Work With Other Government To Stop Violence In Iraq

WASHINGTON—The United States should help Christian communities and other Iraqis plagued by violence through humanitarian assistance and international collaboration, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace in a July 25 letter to National Security Advisor Susan Rice. Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, had written to Rice on June 19 about the escalating violence in Iraq and wrote that the situation had only deteriorated. Read More

URGENT - AUGUST 1st, DAY OF PRAYER  

WE BEG ALL CATHOLICS TO JOIN IN ADORATION ON AUGUST 1st, DAY OF PRAYER, ADORATION AND SOLIDARITY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ, SYRIA & MIDDLE EAST