At last persecuted Christians have a defender
by Melanie Phillips, The Times:
Prince Charles’s intervention is noble but he is sanitising the history of relations with Muslims
Today, from the pulpit of Westminster Abbey, the Prince of Wales is due to plead the cause of the Christians of Syria, Iraq and elsewhere who are suffering persecution under Islamic fanaticism. He is returning to a deeply felt cause. In December last year he said he was “profoundly shocked” at the abuse of Christians in the Middle East.
What is striking, however, is how little attention is paid to this issue given its scale and significance. Indeed, although the Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken out, churches have been largely silent on the catastrophe for their worldwide flock.
According to the 2018 World Watch List compiled by the charity Open Doors, about 215 million Christians are experiencing significant levels of persecution.
[…] So why is Britain joining the UNHCR in discriminating against persecuted Christians? The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of Clifton has claimed that officials are “institutionally biased” against Christian refugees, displaying a “politically correct phobia of avoiding any risk of being perceived as anti-Muslim”.
Read here (£)
Editor’s comment: I don’t think it’s completely fair to say that churches have been ‘largely silent’ on the issue. Perhaps Bishops and other institutional figures have been reticent, but there are many thousands of churches and individuals who regularly highlight the plight of persecuted Christians, and support organisations such as Barnabas Fund, Open Doors, Release International and Aid to the Church in Need. Christian publications (print and online), blogs and social media talk about the persecuted church often and loudly. Briefing events regularly take place in Parliament, sponsored by members of the Commons and Lords, and sponsored by lobby groups on behalf of church groups. So while it is true that there is a reluctance from some church leaders to mention the obvious exacerbating problem of Islamist ideology or even to highlight the plight of overseas persecuted Christians at all, there is huge grassroots concern and action by churchgoers in Britain on their behalf.
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