Aleteia: Christians who have given their life for Christ in 2017

Aleteia provides an overview of some recent 21st-century martyrs.

The blood of martyrs continues to be the seed of new Christians at the beginning of 2018. This is the conclusion we can draw from reviewing the testimonies of men and women who, in various countries around the world, have shed their blood for their faith in Jesus.

Below, we offer a list of present-day witnesses to the Gospel who have been faithful to the very end.

The list is necessarily incomplete. If you know other cases of Christians of any denomination who have been killed for their faith in Christ, please mention their names in the comments below this article, offering sources that will allow us to document the circumstances of their death.

1. Pakistan: Brutally killed at 15 years of age because he was a Christian [Killed by Muslims]

Mushtaq Gill, a Christian lawyer handling the case, explains that Masih’s death is a terrible example of Christian persecution in that country: “Violence begins at the desks in the schools, because even primary school textbooks incite hate against non-Muslims.”

A prayer for the new martyrs of the Palm Sunday massacre in Egypt

Source: Aleteia

O New Martyrs, slain at worship as we enter into our holiest days, you now number among the ancient holy ones. Before the throne of the Almighty, we beg you to keep us particularly in your prayers. Once again we are focused on the mysterious geography where humanity first came into being, and then into contact with the Reality of the One God — the lands where all will someday finally be revealed.

Today, we ponder why it is that our attention is continually turned to this region in gasping sorrow, all due to a malevolent force as old as Eden. We know that Christ Jesus is the Victor over death, and the Victor over evil, but we acknowledge that the victories come only by way of His Cross. O New Martyrs, you and the people of your region share in that Cross and we, in spirit, share it with you. In the presence of the Perfect Wisdom — the Holy, Mighty One who imparts all that is True, teach us to pray the words that will bring peace, if peace is possible, or to pray the words of pure worship, contrition and trust, if it is not.

Pray that we may learn how to become the peace we seek.

Pray that we may put aside all that is irrelevant to the moment and, looking forever to the East, prepare our spirits for the engagements into which we may be called, whether we live amid these places of ancient roads and portals, or in the most modern of dwellings.

Mary, the God-bearer, pray for us,
Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us,
Saint John the Forerunner, pray for us,
Saint Charbel Makhlouf, pray for us,
Saints Mariam Baouardy and Marie-Alphonsine of Palestine, pray for us,
Blessed Charles de Foucauld, pray for us,

All Holy Men and Women, pray for us.
Amen, Amen.

On the Issue of Banning (Muslim) "Refugees" on Possibility of Bringing in "Terrorism Ideology"

WHO IS MS. BRIGITTE GABRIEL?

Brigitte Gabriel was born in the Marjeyoun District of Lebanon to a Maronite Christian couple, a first and only child after over twenty years of marriage. She recalls that during the Lebanese Civil War, Islamic militants launched an assault on a Lebanese military base near her family's house and destroyed her home. Gabriel, who was ten years old at the time, was injured by shrapnel in the attack. She says that she and her parents were forced to live underground in all that remained, an 8-by-10-foot (2.4 by 3.0 m) bomb shelter for seven years, with only a small kerosene heater, no sanitary systems, no electricity or running water, and little food. She says she had to crawl in a roadside ditch to a spring for water to evade Muslim snipers.

According to Gabriel, at one point in the spring of 1978, a bomb explosion caused her and her parents to become trapped in the shelter for two days. They were eventually rescued by three Christian militia fighters, one of whom befriended Gabriel but was later killed by a land mine.

Gabriel wrote that in 1978 a stranger warned her family of an impending attack by the Islamic militias on all Christians. She says that her life was saved when the Israeli army invaded Lebanon in Operation Litani. Later, when her mother was seriously injured and taken to an Israeli hospital, Gabriel was surprised by the humanity shown by the Israelis, in contrast to the constant propaganda against the Jews she saw as a child. She says of the experience:

I was amazed that the Israelis were providing medical treatment to Palestinian and Muslim gunmen...These Palestinians and Muslims were sworn, mortal enemies, dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of Jews. Yet, Israeli doctors and nurses worked feverishly to save their lives. Each patient was treated solely according to the nature of his or her injury. The doctor treated my mother before he treated an Israeli soldier lying next to her because her injury was more severe than his. The Israelis did not see religion, political affiliation, or nationality. They saw only people in need, and they helped.

CNA: Iraqis hopeful in battle for Mosul, yet cautious of what lies ahead

By Elise Harris for Catholic News Agency
Posted October 17, 2016

An Iraqi woman holding a rosary. Credit: Elise Harris/CNA.

Erbil, Iraq (CNA/EWTN News).- Hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced a ground offensive to retake Mosul from the clutches of Islamic State, a priest working in the thick of the country’s refugee crisis said people are happy with the advances, but unsure what the future will hold.

“We are so happy because yesterday the war began between the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga with ISIS,” Father Roni Momika told CNA Oct. 17.

He relayed how shortly before, they had received the “good news” that the ancient Monastery of the Martyrs Saint Behnam and his Sister Sarah, also known as the Mar Behnam monastery, near Nimrud “is free,” though it has suffered significant damage from Islamic State forces.

There are still many Christians living in the villages surrounding Mosul, he noted, but said soldiers from the Iraqi army and the Kurdish Peshmerga are with them.

“We hope that (soon) we will hear good news about Qaraqosh, a big center for Christians, that it will be free and that there is no ISIS there,” he said, but admitted that it might not be that easy.

Fr. Momika is a Syriac Catholic priest serving in the Kurdish capital of Erbil, where he works in the city’s Aishty camp for the displaced.

He and his sister were among the victims wounded in a 2010 bombing of buses transporting mainly Christian college students from the Plains of Nineveh to the University of Mosul, where they were enrolled in classes.

In 2014, while he was in seminary, Momika and his family were forced to flee Qaraqosh, also known as Bakhdida, when Islamic State militants attacked, taking over the city after storming it in the middle of the night with bombs and gunfire.

Since his seminary was closed following Islamic State's assault, he completed his studies in Lebanon, and returned to Iraq for his diaconate ordination, which took place March 19. On Aug. 5 he was ordained a priest in the Aishty camp, where he continues to serve the people by leading women's groups and working with youth.

Christian Post: Atheist Journalist Sohrab Ahmari Announces Conversion to Catholicism After Jihadis Kill French Priest

BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
August 1, 2016|4:38 pm

(PHOTO: SCREENGRAB/YOUTUBE/FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE)
Sohrab Ahmari.

Last week's killing of a French priest by radicals associated with the Islamic State has inspired atheist Wall Street Journal writer Sohrab Ahmari to come out publicly about his plans to convert to Catholicism.

After the news broke that Father Jacques Hamel had been killed by radicals who raided the Church of the Gambetta in the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray district of Normandy last Tuesday, the Iranian-born Ahmari announced in a tweet:

"#IAmJacquesHamel: In fact, this is the right moment to announce that I'm converting to Roman Catholicism."

Ahmari later deleted the tweet and pinned another tweet the following day.

"To new followers: I deleted my tweet professing my conversion, to avoid drawing internet-crazies' attention to my church," the tweet explained.

In response to published reports and tweets that incorrectly claimed he was converting to Christianity from Islam, Ahmari clarified in another tweet that he is actually converting from Atheism.

Although Ahmari publicly announced his conversion only after Hamel was killed, his decision to convert was not inspired by Hamel's martyrdom.

A source close to Ahmari told The Christian Post that Ahmari has been under instruction with a Roman Catholic priest for some time now but Hamel's death was what prompted him to announce his conversion plans.

Ahmari was born in Tehran and moved to the United States when he was 13 years old. He earned a law degree from Northeastern University and was inspired to become a journalist because of the disputed 2009 Iranian elections.

Ahmari has been published in The Boston Globe, The New Republic, The Chronicle of Higher Education and works as an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal's European edition.

In response to the attack in Normandy last Tuesday, Ahmari praised French President François Hollande for declaring that France is "at war" with the Islamic State.

"I support that sentiment because it's still ahead of where many other European governments are in terms of recognizing that what's happening is a low-grade jihadist insurgency targeting all of Europe, and many governments are in denial," Ahmari said in a video interview on WSJ.com. "As far as the Hollande government goes, at least it's a first step to recognizing the adversary and to say there is a war. That is more than can be honestly said of President Obama."

Ahmari added that he thinks European governments are being too reactionary and are not mobilizing to defeat the extremist threats.

"What you see is governments lurching from attack to attack and being very reactive," he said. "If something like [the Normandy church attack] happens, France ramps up sales of artillery to the Iraqi government. ... But you don't see that full-scale mobilization that really needs to happen."

Another area of concern that Ahmari warned about is the Islamic State's growth in Libya.

"No one is paying attention to this vast stretch of territory becoming an 'ISISistan,' if you will," Ahmari stressed.

Islam and ISIS according to 'The Masked Arab'

It is true that all terrorists aren't Muslims but almost certainly true that most terrorists are Muslims. I wish I could quote that Arab journalist who said these lines.

Muslims HATE us! Period!

If we Catholics are encouraged to greet Muslims a 'Ramadan Kareem' or 'Eid Mubarak' then why these Muslim hate preachers say Muslims aren't allowed to reciprocate the same gesture during Christian festivities? For this Muslim extremist preacher, greeting a KUFAR (that is those who are non-Muslims), that greeting is WORST than killing?!!! Really?!

What a SHAME! Muslims must start HATING THEIR PREACHERS for preaching hate. But as we know, they will not, because what this Muslim preacher is saying is exactly what all Muslims believe should be.

Lebanon, Christians, Under Islamist Threat

2016-04-25 | Shadi Khalloul, Act for America

Recent upheavals in Lebanon are making local Christians communities worry about their existence as heirs and descendants of the first Christians. Christians in the Middle East now are facing a huge genocide -- similar to the Christian genocide the followed the Islamic conquest of the Middle East in the 7th century A.D.

Islamic jihadist groups are threatening Lebanese Christians and demanding that they submit to Islam. Lebanon's Christians, descendants of Aramaic Syriacs, were the majority in the country a mere 100 years ago.

The demand for Christians to convert to Islam was one of the declarations issued by ISIS and other Islamic groups hiding in the mountainous border between Syria and Lebanon.

Saad Hariri, a Saudi-backed Sunni Muslim politician and the son of assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, recently invited every Lebanese party to his office to sign a document confirming that Lebanon is an Arab state. Arab state equals Islamic laws, as with all members of the Arab League. Why is it so important to Hariri or to the Sunni and Islamic world to include Lebanon as an Arab state and cancel its current name as a Lebanese state only?

And why do the Arab states, including the Palestinian Authority (PA), refuse to recognize Israel, with its 80% Jewish majority, as Jewish state, while at the same time trying to impose the definition of an Arab state on Lebanon, whose population is 35% non-Arab Christians?

There are approximately one million Syriac Maronites left in Lebanon, as well as another 700,000 Christians belonging to other churches. In addition, more than eight million Syriac Maronites live in the diaspora. These eight million Christians fled over the centuries because of persecution by Muslims, often conquerors of the Christian homeland. Lebanon was never a strictly Arab or Muslim. But that is the step that Saad Hariri, as a milder face of the expansionist ISIS ideology, would have us take -- under the guise of a modern, moderate, Sunni secular front.

Isis Threat to Crucify Lebanon's Christians as Islamic State Prepare to Cross Syria Border
By Jack Moore for IBTimes
September 30, 2014

Christians in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley have begun arming themselves in preparation for an Isis (now known as the Islamic State) offensive as it seeks to expand its territorial control outside of Syria.

Up to 3,000 militants from the Islamic State and other jihadists occupy the mountain range between Lebanon and Syria near the Sunni town of Arsal.

As IS seek to grab land outside of the mountain caves and farms they currently control, Christian volunteers have now created village defence forces to protect against the Sunni militants who have taken up to 21 Lebanese soldiers and policemen hostage.

"We are a minority and we are under threat by the jihadists," Rifaat Nasrallah, a commander of the volunteer guards in the Greek Catholic town of Ras Baalbek, said.

"It wasn't the idea of anyone in particular," Nasrallah says of the formation of defence units. "The whole village felt in danger so we all agreed it was necessary."

"We don't shoot if we see someone or something moving in the mountains," said one of the watchmen. "We just call the Army and they investigate."

Ras Baalbek has a population of 15,000 and is separated from the flashpoint town of Arsal by a range of hills.

"Imagine if Islamic State makes it into Ras Baalbek and they crucify a Christian. It will set Lebanon alight," a western diplomat in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Times.

There are approximately 2.4m Chrisitans in Lebanon, 20pc of the total population.

The terror group has continued to crack down on religious freedom since the announcement of its Islamic "caliphate", straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border.

The Sunni jihadists have taken over Iraq's largest Christian town of Qaraqosh causing thousands of residents to flee towards Kurdistan region.

They also issued an ultimatum to Christians in the city of Mosul to convert to their radical form of Islam or be forced to either pay a tax, leave the city or be harmed for refusal to convert.

The city is now reportedly empty of Christians as hundreds of families fled following the ultimatum of death or a historic contract ‒ known as "dhimma"‒ where non-Muslims can receive protection if they pay a fee known as a "jizya".

Palestinians Are Erasing Christian History

Source: United With Israel
By: Khaled Abu Toameh
Posted in Apr 18, 2016

A Palestinian worker points to a Greek cross on a crown that was discovered with remnants of marble Corinthian pillars and foundations during construction of a shopping center in Gaza City. (AP/Adel Hana)

The plight of Palestinian Christians does not interest the international community, because Israel cannot be blamed for demolishing the antiquities. If the current policy against Christians persists, the day will come when no Christians will be left in Bethlehem.

• For Palestinian Christians, the destruction of the ancient Byzantine church ruins is yet a further attempt by Palestinian Muslim leaders to efface both Christian history and signs of any Christian presence in the West Bank and Gaza, under the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas. A growing number of Christians feel they are being systematically targeted by both the PA and Hamas for being Christians.

• Bulldozers were used to destroy some of the church artifacts; some Palestinian Christians accused both Hamas and the PA of copying ISIS tactics to demolish historic sites.

• “Where are the heads of the churches in Jerusalem and the world?… Where are the Vatican and UNESCO? Where are the leaders and politicians who talk, talk, talk about national unity and the preservation of holy sites? Or is this a collective conspiracy to end our existence and history in the East?” — Sami Khalil, a Christian from the West Bank city of Nablus.

• The plight of Palestinian Christians does not interest the international community. That is because Israel cannot be blamed for demolishing the antiquities. If the current policy against Christians persists, the day will come when no Christians will be left in Bethlehem.

Palestinian Christians are up in arms over the destruction of the ruins of an ancient Byzantine church that were recently discovered in Gaza City.

The protest, however, failed to win the attention of the international community, especially United Nations agencies such as UNESCO, whose mission is to secure the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

A Palestinian youth removes sand from a crown
that was discovered with remnants of marble
Corinthian pillars and foundations, some
of them with a Greek cross during construction
of a shopping center in Gaza City. (AP/Adel Hana)

The ruins of the 1800-year-old church were discovered in Palestine Square, in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, where Hamas is planning to build a shopping mall. The dramatic discovery of the antiquities did not seem to leave an impression on the construction workers, who removed artifacts and continued with their work at the site.

Defying belief, bulldozers were used to destroy some of the church artifacts, drawing sharp criticism from Palestinian Christians, some of whom rushed to accuse both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) of copying ISIS tactics to demolish historic sites.

For Palestinian Christians, the destruction of the church ruins is yet a further attempt by Palestinian Muslim leaders to efface both Christian history and signs of any Christian presence in the Palestinian territories.

Muslim Terrorists, You can burn our churches but you can NEVER change our faith!

Photos Source: This is Christian Assyria

We still believe in JESUS CHRIST as our LORD and GOD!

Pope calls Pakistan attack ‘hideous,’ demands protection for Christians

Pakistani women weeping and comforting each other after Muslim Terrorists suicide bomber killed at least 70 Christians in Lahore, Pakistan while celebrating Easter. (Photo Source: Associated Press (AP))

ENDLESS MUSLIM MURDERING OF CHRISTIANS! WHEN WILL THIS MADNESS STOPS?!!!

We remember all those persecuted Christians in our prayers and sacrifices. We also pray for Muslims' conversion of hearts! LORD HAVE MERCY! -CD2000

Published March 28, 2016
Source: GMANews

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Monday condemned the Easter suicide bomb by Islamist militants that killed at least 70 people in Pakistan, many of them Christians, as "hideous" and demanded that the country's authorities protect religious minorities.

Addressing thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on Easter Monday, a religious holiday, the Pope said Pakistan had been "bloodied by a hideous attack that massacred so many innocent people, mostly families of the Christian minority."

The Pope, speaking from the window of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace to crowds in the square below, called the Sunday evening attack in a busy park in the Pakistani city of Lahore, "a vile and senseless crime."

"I appeal to civil authorities and all sectors of that nation to make every effort to restore security and serenity to the population, and in particular to the most vulnerable religious minorities," he said.

Pope Francis, leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, said he also prayed that God would "stop the hands of the violent ones who sow terror and death."

A breakaway Taliban militant group that once declared loyalty to Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast.

Pakistan is a majority-Muslim state though it has a Christian population of more than 2 million. — Reuters

MUSLIM TERRORISTS MURDER, KILL, TERRORIZE, BEHEAD CHRISTIANS AND NON-MUSLIMS FOR THEIR ALLAH!

Muslim around the world again are SILENT against the perpetuated CRIME done by Muslim TERRORISTS to Christians (Mostly Catholics and Orthodox) within their communities. I am wondering how many Evangelical Christians, Born-Again Christians, Iglesia Ni Cristo members and Ang Dating Daan members are rejoicing with this news? -CD2000

"Whoever is not against us is with us..." -Mark 9:40

In Pakistan, Taliban's Easter bombing targets, kills scores of Christians

By Sophia Saifi, CNN
Posted March 28, 2016

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) On Easter Sunday, a crisp spring day, some of the city's Christian population mingled with their Muslim neighbors, celebrating in a neighborhood park -- taking their kids on rides or pushing them on swings. Then, the sound of tragedy.

Without warning, a blast tore through the park, killing indiscriminately.

Because of the innocent setting, an unusually high number of those injured were women and children. But the attack, claimed by a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, intentionally targeted Christians, the perpetrators say.

The suicide blast, in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore, killed at least 69 people, a local government spokesman told CNN.

More than 341 others were injured, according to Punjab government spokesperson Jehangir Awan.

It comes at a difficult time for Pakistan's Christians, some of whom were in the city's Gulshan Iqbal Park to celebrate the holiday Sunday evening, only to see their Easter Sunday fragment into terror and chaos.

The religious group makes up only 2% of the population, and tensions are high between them and a hardline Muslim core which wants to see a strict interpretation of Islamic law take precedence in Pakistan's legal system.

'Bodies everywhere'
One witness, Danish, was at the amusement park with his two sisters. He recalled the moment that the explosion ripped apart the park, killing one of his sisters and seriously injuring the other.

"It was so crowded that there was even no way of entering it. We went to a canteen to have something to eat, when there was suddenly a big blast. Everyone panicked, running to all directions. Many of them were blocked at the gate of the park. Dead bodies can be found everywhere," he told reporters.

N.Y. Imam on Paris Terror Attacks: We Muslims Must Admit That We Are Time Bombs, Hate Christians

IN MEMORY OF ALL THOSE WHO SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF MUSLIM EXTREMISTS RECENTLY IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM AND PARIS, FRANCE!

CRUX: Ordinary people are not powerless to resist anti-Christian genocide

Pilgrimages to Holy Land sites such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have declined.

By John L. Allen Jr. for CRUX
Associate editor
March 21, 2016

ROME — Now that the United States officially has joined most of the rest of the world in declaring that the violence unleashed by ISIS on Christians and other minorities constitutes genocide, attention shifts to what to do about it.

Often, that conversation is pitched at a broad geopolitical level that ordinary people can’t really control: Should the United States put boots on the ground to fight ISIS? Should our policies on accepting refugees change? Should Western nations make a greater investment in reconstruction of areas wrested back from ISIS control?

Yet that’s not to say ordinary people are completely powerless to push back against the genocide, as an event in Rome Friday featuring Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches, illustrated.

The purpose of the event was to present a new book, “Ma Non Vincerà la Notte” (“But the Night Will Not Win”), featuring letters to persecuted Christians from several prominent Italians, including Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan and Maria Voce, head of the worldwide Focolare movement.

The book is published by Edizioni Terra Santa, the publishing arm of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and was officially released at the Rome headquarters of the Custody. It was put together by author Cristina Uguccioni; the event was moderated by Italian Vatican writer Ignazio Ingrao.

Proceeds from the book will go to the annual Good Friday collection on behalf of the Holy Land, which right away is a reminder of one thing ordinary people certainly can do: Give generously on Good Friday, because God knows the Christian communities of the Middle East need the help.

Pope condemns 'blind violence,' offers prayers after Brussels attacks

Source: Catholic News Service
By Cindy Wooden
July 22, 2016

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis, condemning the "blind violence" of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, offered his prayers to the victims, the injured, their families and all those offering assistance in the aftermath of the bombings.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, sent the pope's condolences March 22 to Archbishop Jozef De Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels.

"The Holy Father again condemns the blind violence which causes so much suffering, and he implores from God the gift of peace," the message said.

The pope "entrusts to God's mercy those who died and, in prayer, he shares the pain of their loved ones," the message said. "He expresses his deepest sympathy to the injured and their families, as well as for all those providing assistance, "asking the Lord to give them comfort and consolation amid this ordeal."

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters the attacks in Brussels would not lead to any changes in Pope Francis' Holy Week and Easter schedule. Already for the Year of Mercy, especially after the November terrorist attacks in Paris, the Italian police presence at the Vatican has been increased.

Three nearly simultaneous attacks -- two at the Brussels airport and one on the Brussels area of Maalbeek, near where much of the European Union is based -- left at least 31 dead and dozens more injured. At least one of the airport attacks was attributed to a suicide bomber.

The Associated Press reported that a spokesman for the Brussels Metro said 20 people were killed and more than 100 injured in an explosion on a train, and Belgian media reported at least 11 dead in two explosions at the airport, with many others injured. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

After the attacks, Belgium raised its terror alert to the highest level.

Belgium's Catholic bishops said they shared "the anguish of thousands of passengers and their families, aviation professionals and aid teams called to the breach once more."

The bishops said airport chaplains were "at the daily service of all," and would "offer the necessary spiritual service," adding that it counted on the whole country to "live through these days with great civic responsibility."

Brussels Auxiliary Bishop Jean Kockerols told the church's Cathobel news agency he was shocked by the savagery of the "completely absurd attacks."

"We must support the efforts of the public authorities we've elected and mandated to serve the common good and maintain law and order -- it's not for us to start polemicizing and making accusations today as to whether they fulfilled their duties and did all they could," Bishop Kockerols said.

"It's a great mystery that this has all happened on the threshold of Holy Week, the most sacred time for Christians, when we are about to mark Good Friday and Easter. In the face of such madness, we should adopt the courageous attitude of Mary, who remained at the foot of the cross in silence."

Cathobel issued an emergency number for those seeking information about missing family members and said it had been in contact with Father Michel Gaillard, the Brussels airport chief chaplain.

Meanwhile, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who heads the Brussels-based Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, or COMECE, said Catholics would be "praying especially in Holy Week" for victims of the violence.

In a statement, he said he had been concerned about COMECE staffers, who later issued a message confirming that all personnel were safe.

A bishops' conference staffer, Father Geert Lesage, told Catholic News Service he expected Catholic clergy to visit sites of the attacks to offer pastoral care, as well as to organize special Masses as soon as security conditions permitted.

However, he added that all mobile phone connections were now down in Brussels, making it impossible to obtain news of Catholic victims or damage to church property.

Father Charles De Clercq, a Brussels priest, told Cathobel he had been in the first car of the bombed Metro train, which had been "plunged into darkness and filled with smoke" after the explosion.

"Smashed windows fell on my knees -- there was light, smoke and shouts. The driver arrived after two minutes with a lamp and made the passengers leave via an emergency window," the priest said.

"On the floor, passengers were curled up, obviously in pain, who could have been crushed by those in flight. I knew there'd been two explosions in the morning at Zaventem (airport), so I knew there was a real possibility this was also an attack."

A day earlier, gunmen in Bamako, Mali, targeted a hotel that was serving as the headquarters of an EU troops who were there to train the country's military. Mali and other West African countries have been under attack by Islamic extremists.

Catholic Relief Services, which has programs in Mali, announced March 22 that its staffers were safe after the attack. 

Photo Source: Vatican Radio

NOTHING SEPARATES US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD! AMEN!

Source: Facebook Account

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." -ROMANS 8:38-39

ON GOOD FRIDAY, ISIS MUSLIM TERRORISTS WILL CRUCIFY FR. TOM TO SHOWCASE THEIR IMMENSE HATRED TO CHRISTIANS (CATHOLICS)!

Source: Facebook Page of Franciscan Sisters of Siessen

PLEASE PRAY FOR FR. TOM  

AND ALL PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST!

Was informed that the Salesian priest, Fr.Tom who was kidnapped by ISIS from the Missionaries of Charity Home in Yemen is being tortured and is going to be crucified on Good Friday. This calls for serious concerted prayers from all of us.

Can we all pray 3 I Believe for the conversion of people who are persecuting Christians & 3 Hail Marys for Fr. Tom

NCR: Eyewitness Account of ISIS [Muslim Terrorists] Attack on Mother Teresa's Sisters in Yemen

'I’m amazed by the faith reflected in those words,' said Auxiliary Bishop Edward Rice of St. Louis on March 14. 'Because of their faithfulness, they were in the right place at the right time and were ready when the Bridegroom came.'

by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND 
Posted 03/17/2016 National Catholic Register

Clockwise from upper right: Sister Anselm, Sister Reginette, Sister Judith and Sister Marguerite, the Missionaries of Charity sisters who were killed in Aden, Yemen, by two gunmen who attacked their convent on March 4.

– Courtesy of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia

On March 4, following the ISIS attack on a Missionaries of Charity home for the elderly and disabled in Aden, Yemen, the sole survivor member of the order, Sister Sally, conveyed her testimony of the massacre to Sister Rio. Sister Rio’s account was recorded by another Missionary of Charity, Sister Adriana.

This testimony was circulated to religious communities in the United States as Secretary of State John Kerry was considering whether to declare that the Islamic State’s actions in the Middle East constituted genocide against Christians and other religious minorities. On March 17, Secretary Kerry designated the terrorist organization's actions as genocide

During a March 14 Mass that honored the four Missionaries of Charity who died in Aden, Bishop Edward Rice, an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, quoted Sister Rio’s powerful statement regarding the death of her fellow sisters: “Because of their faithfulness they were in the right place at the right time and were ready when the Bridegroom came.”

“I’m amazed by the faith reflected in those words,” said Bishop Rice. “The Holy Father speculates that, at the moment of their death, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was waiting for her sisters, to bring them to the Lord,” Bishop Rice said. “But not to disagree with Pope Francis, I think even more so, at the moment of their death, Christ himself was there to greet them and proclaimed, ‘Well done, good and faithful servants. Come, receive your Master’s joy.’”

Images of the three pages of photocopied handwritten testimony are available here: Page 1, Page 2 and Page 3. A PDF containing all three pages can be downloaded here. Following is the text of the testimony, with emphases added in bold:

* * * * * * * * * *

SISTER RIO’S WORDS TO SISTER ADRIANA, MC: Friday, midday, March 4, 2016

Sisters had Mass, breakfast as usual. As usual, Father stays back in chapel to say prayers, then to fix things around the compound.

8:00am: Said apostolate prayer and all 5 went to home.

8:30am: ISIS dressed in blue came in, killed guard and driver.

5 young Ethiopian men (Christian) began running to tell the sisters ISIS was here to kill them. They were killed one by one. They tied them to trees, shot them in the head and smashed their heads.

The sisters ran 2 by 2 in different directions, as they have mens and ladies home. 4 working women were screaming, “Don’t kill the sisters! Don’t kill the sisters!” One was the cook for 15 years. They killed them as well.

They caught Sr. Judith and Sr. Reginette first, tied them up, shot them in the head and smashed their heads. When the sisters ran in different directions, the Superior ran to the convent to try to warn Father Tom.

They caught Sr. Anselm and Sr. Marguerite, tied them, shot them in the head and smashed their heads in the sand.

Meanwhile, the Superior could not get to the convent. It is not clear how many ISIS men were there.

She saw all the sisters and helpers killed. The ISIS men were already getting to the convent so she went into the refridgerator room, since the door was open. These ISIS men were everywhere, searching for her, as they knew there were 5. At least three times they came into the fridgerator room. She did not hide, but remained standing behind the door – they never saw her. This is miraculous.

Meanwhile, at the convent, Father had heard the screaming and consumed all the Hosts. He had no time to consume the large Host, so he threw the oil out of the sanctuary lamp and dissolved it in the water.

A neighbor saw them put Father Tom in their car. They did not find any trace of Father anywhere. All the religious articles were smashed and destroyed – Our Lady, crucifix, altar, tabernacle, lectionary stand – even their prayer books and Bibles.

10:00 or 10:15am: The ISIS men finished and left.

Sr. Sally came to get the bodies of the sisters. She got them all. She went to the patients to each one individually to see if they were OK. All were OK. Not one was hurt.

The son of the woman who was the cook (who was killed) was calling her on her cellphone. Since she was not answering, he called the police, and he went with the police there and found this great massacre. The police and the son arrived at about 10:30am.

The police tried to take Sr. Sally out of there — she refused to leave the people who were crying, “Don’t leave us; stay with us.” But the police forced her to go with them because the ISIS knew there were 5 sisters, and they were convinced they will not stop until they kill her too. So finally she had to leave. She took one set of clothes and the sisters’ bodies, and the police brought them to an international hospital called “Doctors Without Borders” for protection. As there was not enough room in the mortuary of that hospital for the sisters’ bodies, the police brought their bodies to a bigger hospital mortuary.

Sr. Sally told Sr. Rio she is so sad because she is alone and did not die with her sisters. Sr. Rio told her God wanted a witness and told her, “Who would have found the sisters’ bodies and who would ever tell us what happened? God wants us to know.”

Pope Francis had his secretary contact the Yemen Secretary of State very often – about once a week to check up on the sisters and reassure them of his closeness. Today, the Pope’s secretary sent the message: “I thank them — Little M.C. martyrs.” He said he is offering the 40-hour First Friday devotion for them.

Sr. Sally told Sr. Rio that Fr. Tom tells them every day, “Let us be ready for martyrdom.”

Sr. Judith — they were trying so hard to take her for senior course, but they were not able to get her out.

Sr. Reginette — they were trying to send her for junior course but could not get her out.

God wanted them there.

Aden is rich city – a port city. Aden wanted to be its own state, so they got ISIS in to help them fight against Yemen. So ISIS won for Aden. That was the war last year, with all the bombing. They won, so that is over, but ISIS won’t leave. They want to take over and exterminate any Christian presence. They did not kill the sisters in the war because they had no political reason to waste time on them. But now, they are the only Christian presence, and ISIS wants to get rid of all Christianity. So they are real martyrs — died because they are Christians. They could have died so many times in the war, but God wanted it to be clear they are martyrs for the faith.

Sr. Rio said Sr. Sally is fully surrendered. The police are trying to get her out because they will just keep after her until they kill her. She is fully surrendered and told Sr. Rio – whatever God wants. She said the other Muslims are so respectful of them. She said to pray that their blood will be the seeds for peace in the Middle East and to stop the ISIS.

She said that if they kidnapped Father Tom most probably they will wait 2 days, then ask in exchange for Father Tom either money or the release of their members held in prison.

Sr. Rio said they were so faithful – ISIS knew exactly when they leave and when to break in. And because of their faithfulness, they were in the right place at the right time and were ready when the Bridegroom came.

Sr. Adriana said she thinks the crushing of the heads has some evil connection with “She will crush head of the serpent,” some kind of mockery or evil meaning.

CORRECT NAMES:

Sister M. Sally, MC (Superior)

Sister M. Anselm, MC (Bihar)

Sister M. Marguerite, MC (Rwanda)

Sister M. Judith, MC (Kenya)

Sister M. Reginette, MC (Rwanda)

CRUCIFIED FOR BEING CHRISTIANS - A GENOCIDE STORY OF THE CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Crucified for being Christians in Syria (Photo Source: Express News)

We will NEVER FORGET their sacrifices. Martyrs of the Church, remember us and pray for us! -CD2000

John Kerry: ISIS responsible for genocide

By Elise Labott and Tal Kopan, CNN

Posted March 17, 2016

(CNN) Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the United States has determined that ISIS' action against the Yazidis and other minority groups in Iraq and Syria constitutes genocide.

"My purpose here today is to assert in my judgment, (ISIS) is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control including Yazidis, Christians and Shiite Muslims," he said, during a news conference at the State Department.

Kerry said that in 2014, ISIS trapped Yazidis, killed them, enslaved thousands of Yazidi women and girls, "selling them at auction, raping them at will and destroying the communities in which they had lived for countless generations," executed Christians "solely for their faith" and also "forced Christian women and girls into slavery."

"Without our intervention, it is clear that those people would have been slaughtered," he said.

This is the first time that the United States has declared a genocide since Darfur in 2004.

The House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed a resolution labeling the ISIS atrocities against Christian groups in Syria and Iraq "genocide," a term the State Department had been reluctant to use about the attacks and mass murders by the terror group.

The genocide finding does not legally obligate the U.S. to take any particular action, but it could put pressure on the Obama administration to take more aggressive military action against ISIS. It could also give weight to calls by other lawmakers and humanitarian groups pushing the Obama administration to welcome more refugees into the United States.

House to Obama: Label ISIS attack against Christians 'genocide'

The move, aimed at ramping up pressure on the Obama administration, appears to have worked.

The measure was non-binding, but both Republicans and Democrats in the House joined together 393-0 to back a "sense of Congress" saying the crimes committed against Christians, Yazidis and other ethnic and religious minorities in the region amount to war crimes and, in some cases, genocide.

Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, whose Nebraska district is home to the largest group of resettled Yazidis in the U.S., authored the resolution with California Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo.

During debate on Monday, Fortenberry noted it was a rare instance of an issue that has "risen above the petty and difficult differences we often work out on the floor of the House of Representatives."

Women secretly film inside ISIS stronghold

Brave Enough! That's How Catholic Missionaries Witness to Christ's Love for All.

Catholic Missionaries are always willing to offer their precious lives to Christ even to die as martyrs.  That is WITNESSING.God bless our Religious Missionaries around the world especially those who are in places where Christians are roundly persecuted by Muslim terrorists!

Source: Breitbart
By Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.4 Mar 2016

Franciscan Friars: ‘We Will Not Leave Lands Occupied by Jihadists’

After serious deliberation, the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, a group of monks living in territory occupied by the Islamic State in Syria, have made the decision to stay on despite the dangers, insisting that a good shepherd never abandons his sheep.

In recent days, the Prior of the community, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, took a survey among his confreres asking whether whether in the face of new risks of violence and persecution it was better to stay on with the few remaining Christians or to move to safer territory.

The number of local Christians in the parishes of the Syrian villages under the control of Islamist forces continues to dwindle as many leave on their own or are driven out. Moreover, outright persecution against the Christians has also increased. Not long ago, one of the Franciscans, Father Dhiya Azziz, was abducted by Islamist militants, and only released after 12 days of detention.

After receiving a good number of responses, Father Pizzaballa said that “almost all have clearly expressed the view that it is only right to remain in the villages, without consideration for the number of parishioners or the danger involved.”

Pizzaballa also reflected that the Franciscans of the Custody “have never left the places and people that the Church has entrusted to it, even at risk of danger,” adding that “not a few of our martyrs, even in recent times, died in circumstances not too dissimilar from the current situation.”

“A shepherd does not abandon his flock,” he said, “and does not ask whether his sheep are worth much or little, or if they are numerous or young. For a shepherd all the sheep are important and he loves them all the same way.”

There are several hundred Christians in the regions of Syria where the Islamist militants rule, and the jihadists do everything in their power to make life as unpleasant as possible for the so-called infidels.

The villages of Knayeh, Yacoubieh and Jdeideh in the Orontes valley, for instance, are home to some four hundred baptized Christians. They continue to live, pray and attend mass there, even though the jihadists have stripped the three Catholic parishes in the area of bells, crosses and statues of saints.

Under the jihadist domination, Christians are allowed no public expressions of the Church’s life: no bells, no processions, no crosses on the churches, and no statues.

In autumn 2014, one of the Franciscans, Father Hanna Jallouf, the pastor of Knayeh, went in person to the Islamic Court in the area to denounce the increasing abuses perpetrated by Islamist brigades against the monastery.

Father Jallouf intended to see whether the “new order” imposed by the jihadists would guarantee the limited rights of a Christian subject, even those prescribed under Sharia law.

As a result, the jihadists arrested Father Jallouf on trumped up charged of cooperation with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, along with a group of young people of the parish, and they were held in detention.

Eventually Jallouf’s sentence was commuted to house arrest.

Nonetheless, the Franciscans are staying, insisting that until they are killed off, there will still be Christians in the Holy Land.