U.S. Bishops Discuss Ways the Church in America Can Assist Persecuted Christians in the Middle East During Fall General Assembly
BALTIMORE—Bishop Gregory J. Mansour of the Eparchy ofSaint Maron of Brooklyn introduced a discussion today, during the U.S. bishops'fall General Assembly, on ways the Church in the United States can assistpersecuted Christians in the Middle East.
BALTIMORE—Bishop Gregory J. Mansour of the Eparchy ofSaint Maron of Brooklyn introduced a discussion today, during the U.S. bishops'fall General Assembly, on ways the Church in the United States can assistpersecuted Christians in the Middle East.
"Although the vast majority of today's refugees arenonChristian; the vast majority of those who serve them are Christians, whocontinue to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth," BishopMansour said. "Today Christians are more united than ever, through a commonsuffering, a common martyrdom, and a common assistance given to those in need."
The efforts to improve assistance and supportChristians in the Middle East cover three main focus areas: advocacy,humanitarian aid, and ecumenical support.
In the area of advocacy, the bishops urge the U.S.government to increase U.S. humanitarian aid and development assistance for refugeesas well as internally displaced persons and those countries in the region hostinglarge refugee populations. The bishopsalso urge the U.S. Government to promote peace in the region and encourage thebuilding of inclusive governments while working with other nations to standagainst ISIS and hold them accountable for their genocidal acts.
Regarding humanitarian assistance, efforts include:developing a plan to assist Iraqi and Syrian Christians in the future in rebuildingchurches, hospitals, schools, homes and livelihoods; the promotion of a linking(twinning) of parishes and dioceses between the U.S. and Churches in the MiddleEast; and continued fundingefforts for various Catholic charities including Catholic Relief Services(CRS), Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Catholic Near East WelfareAssociation (CNEWA) and Knights of Columbus (K of C).
Efforts in the area of ecumenical and interreligioussupport include: working ecumenically with interfaith partners to drawattention to the need for basic human rights, full citizenship rights andreligious freedom for people in the Middle East; collaborating with humanrights and refugee organizations to highlight the crisis and advocate formeasures to alleviate suffering; and strengthening ecumenical andinterreligious outreach to deepen witness and foster respect and support forChristians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.
The USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peacecoordinates and leads the U.S. bishops' advocacy for persecuted Christians andother minorities in cooperation with the Knights of Columbus, In Defense ofChristians, and CRS.
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Keywords: USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Novembermeeting, Fall General Assembly, Baltimore, Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, Eparchyof Saint Maron of Brooklyn, Christians, persecution, religious liberty, MiddleEast, ISIS, interfaith, interreligious, Congress, humanitarian, assistance,Catholic Relief Services, CRS, Committee on International Justice, Committee onEcumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Knights of Columbus, advocacy
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