Fr Marco Villani SDB, our Justice and Peace Delegate, attended the recent annual Mass and talk for Aid to the Church in Need.

The annual Aid To The Church In Need (ACN) event took place on Saturday October 13th 2018 starting with Solemn Mass in Westminster, presided over by Canon Tuckwell. His Grace Archbishop Angaelos, first Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London was also a guest on the sanctuary. The first reading was read by Mr. Martin Bashir, Religious Affairs Correspondent for the BBC, whilst the homily was given by Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf representing the National Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan.

After Mass, the supporters adjourned next door to Westminster Hall to hear a number of speakers. The first was His Grace Archbishop Angaelos who spoke about the plight of Christians from an Egyptian perspective. Though Christians make up about fifteen per cent of Egypt's population, the highest Christian percentage in the Middle East and North Africa, yet Christians only make up five per cent of the population of this region.

Reflecting on Luke 4: 13, Archbishop Angaelos felt that just as Christ preached to the poor and brought about recovery of sight to the blind, so Christians must share in this ministry, to be His ambassadors and follow in His footsteps.

He noted the courage of the 21 martyrs beheaded in Libya and the courage of their families in their capacity for forgiveness. Despite the persecution of Christians in Upper Egypt, including the bombing of their churches, the inaction of the police and the violent mobs emboldened by such apathy, Christians feel empowered by God who will not forsake those who believe that they are the indigenous people of Egypt.

With freedom comes an obligation to speak truth to others cf. Zechariah 8: 16. When we advocate for our Christian brothers and sisters we are most clearly seen to be Christian. Despite the legacy of Muslim Brotherhood, there is still the hope of Resurrection for Christians in Egypt who rely upon our prayers for them.

The second speaker was Sr. Luma Khuder OP from Iraq. She holds a Masters and a Phd in Biblical Studies and is a lecturer in both Iraq and the USA. She enumerated the sufferings of Christians in Iraq: kidnappings, disappearances, the imposition of Islamic law.

Islamic terrorists wanted to impose Islamic law on Qaraqosh, a majority Christian town in Iraq, hence many Christians, including Sr. Luma and her fellow sisters from their convent, fled to Ankawa in Kurdistan as they were betrayed by Muslims in neighbouring towns whilst the terrorists destroyed thousands of churches, monasteries, cathedrals, churches, schools and homes. She felt that Ezekiel 57, where God exhorts dry bones to live, is a symbol of Resurrection for Christians in Iraq.

Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf, Head of the National Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops of Pakistan was joined by the husband and elder daughter of Asia Bibi, a Catholic mother who has been in solitary confinement since being charged with the capital offence of blasphemy. Using a translator, her daughter Eisham spoke movingly and with great passion about the incarceration of her mother and her appeals for her release. Meanwhile, the family have had difficulty finding both lawyers and judges who were willing to support and hear their legal case, whilst the family have had to be relocated to safe houses to avoid the militants who want to attack the family.

The final speaker was Mr. Martin Bashir, the BBCs Religious Affairs Correspondent, who spoke with passion about the challenge of living out the Beatitudes in the face of intense persecution with particular reference to 'Blessed are the peacemakers'.

He reminded the conference that the church was always a Church of martyrs from the Massacre of the Innocents to the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. The Letter of Dionysius recalls the heroism of ordinary Christians who showed loyalty to their brothers and sisters in the Faith and came to minister to them, often offering their lives for them instead. Even the Roman Emperor Julian 'The Apostate' stated that the success of the Christians lies in their charity, not only to their own but to all. God, who was strong enough to take on vulnerability out of love for us, takes us under his wings as we complete the suffering that is part of our joint Christian pilgrimage.

Fr Marco Villani SDB