‘Be aware of Christian persecution; help suffering Church’s martyrs,’ Filipinos urged
Catholic Church’s papal charity on Nov. 22 urged Filipinos to respond to the help asked by the persecuted Christians and to enlighten the world about the atrocities experienced by the Church's martyrs.
“They are looking at us for the grace piercing through our hearts and asking us to pray for those Christians who continue to suffer,” Jonathan Luciano, national director of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Philippines, said in a forum at UST.
ACN is a Pontifical charity organization that seeks to serve the needs of persecuted Christians worldwide.
Jonathan Luciano, national director of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Philippines, explains the atrocities experienced by the Church's martyrs. Photo by Gabriel Janathan L. Castro.
“They are also urging us to act and make the world informed about the reality of persecution and to be in communion with our brothers and sisters in faith or suffering simply because they believe in Jesus Christ,” Luciano said.
“We are here to keep you aware. This Red Wednesday campaign is here to challenge you to touch your hearts and in doing so to embolden you to act in behalf of the suffering Church,” he added.
Luciano said the indifference among Filipinos could also be considered as their involvement in persecution.
“[T[his is also the opportunity to look into ourselves because we are also part of the persecution because of our indifference,” he said.
Luciano encouraged Filipinos to respect the “countless and the nameless Christians” who followed the known martyrs.
“[H]onor not only the known martyrs of our faith but also the countless and the nameless faceless Christians who have followed their example since the beginnings of the Church by literally offering their lives for the faith,” he said.
The campaign’s purpose was to raise awareness among Filipinos about the sufferings of persecuted Christians worldwide for them to act, said Luciano.
Mark von Reidemann, ACN director for Public Affairs and Religious Freedom, explained that if persecution will not end, Christian population will come to a possible huge loss.
“If we continue it this way, we may be witness our generation of seeing no more Christians in the cradle of Christianity. We are taking about something we could not imagine because it is happening before our eyes,” he said.
The forum, which was part of the “Red Wednesday” campaign, was organized by the ACN Philippines.
The advocacy forum titled, “Persecuted and Remembered: In Solidarity with Persecuted Christians Worldwide,” was organized by the different organizations of UST.
UST, as one of the key venues of the campaign, celebrated a Mass and candle lighting ceremony after the forum.