Editorial

By Paul Schratz

As the Christian world celebrates the glory of the resurrection, many Christians likely feel they don't have much to celebrate, at least from an earthly perspective.

They may well anticipate the resurrection after death, but in the meantime they lack the freedom to practise their faith. For some, it's a struggle to stay alive.

In this diocese, hundreds of people were received into the Church at Easter. In some places in the world, baptisms are conducted in secret.

In this country we are free to publish news and commentary about our faith, and the federal government even helps fund the mailing of our religious publication. Around the world, governments are shutting down means of communications.

In this country we are free to worship, although there is a growing intolerance toward those who say "the wrong thing" on certain issues. Even a bishop can be hauled in front of a human rights tribunal. Even a university will gag a pro-life group from speaking.

Yet these are slight harassments on the persecution scale when one considers that at the other end, faithful and clergy are being murdered.

The persecution is a result of Islamic extremism, which is making it increasingly difficult to be a Christian in many Muslim-influenced parts of the world.

A recent survey of religion entitled Freedom in the World, produced by the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, shows that there are no Muslim governments in the Middle East where religious freedom is protected.

In a free and democratic nation like Israel, it can be difficult to be a Christian. In nominally free countries like Jordan, Morocco, and Lebanon, Christians are small and under pressure to get smaller. In countries like Saudi Arabia and Algeria, the indigenous Christian communities are practically extinct, with a few converts reportedly practising their faith in catacombs.

Laureen McMahon's interview this week with Father Sarmed Biloues of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Surrey typifies what Christians in Iraq are facing. Father Biloues fled the country after receiving death threats. He is now helping the growing number of Iraqi immigrants coming here.

A report released in June by the Assyrian International News Agency contained detailed accounts of Christian children in Iraq, including babies, as well as lay people, priests, and nuns being burned, beaten, or blown up by car bombs.

Pope Benedict XVI has said Iraq's Christians are experiencing an "authentic martyrdom," and last year he told U.S. President George W. Bush in June that he feared "the society that was evolving would not tolerate the Christian religion."

As Father Biloues grieves the loss of Archbishop Rahho, he describes his friend as a peacemaker and a man of reconciliation, precisely the type of person whom Muslim extremists might target.

He offered one telling quote of the man. "He gathered 400 young people in his parish to help care for the poor, the sick, and homeless. He said that it was where we would all find Jesus," said Father Biloues.

All of this serves as an important reminder that while we celebrate the resurrection, we must remain aware that Christ is with our persecuted brothers and sisters, and that the persecuted Church needs our prayers and any efforts we can make to support it.