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2003-10-26 On the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Pontificate...
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October 26, 2003
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Pontificate, our Holy Father received a personal gift of about $800,000 from his Cardinals, which he immediately gave to the persecuted Catholics in the Middle East. At the same time the Vatican journal La Civilta Cattolica described the "perpetual discrimination" suffered by Christians in Islamic lands. Before the Muslim invasions, Christians flourished in North Africa, producing Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine, Fulgentius and some of the most important theological schools. Few remain, notably the Copts of Egypt. The Ottomans conquered the flourishing Christian culture of Turkey, reducing it to about 100,000 today. The Middle East was devastated.
The attrition has been due in part to violent persecutions and longer periods of discrimination under a complex system in which Islamic law divided the world into dar al-harb (the house of war), dar al-islam (the house of Islam), and dar al-ahd (the house of accord). Islam has consistently challenged pagans ("the idolaters") with the choice of conversion or destruction. The "People of the Book," who are Christians, Jews, and related groups known as “Sabei” must be "fought" until "humiliated" (Qu'ran, Sura 9:29). People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab) are protected in exchange for taxes and obedience to numerous restrictions.
Between the end of the 19th century and World War I, a "Reawakening (Nahda)” movement in the Arab world freed up many of these regulations, aided by the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and reforms under French and British protectorates. Radical reaction to this by movements started by such as Hasan al-Banna and Abd al-Qadir ‘Uda now endangers Christian communities, making baptism a capital crime. In the last decade three million (about one-third) of Christians have fled the Middle East. In Algeria a bishop and many monks and nuns have been slain. Two years ago in Pakistan 18 Christians were shot while in church. In Nigeria several thousands of Christians have been attacked and the situation worsens in Indonesia, affecting Java, East Timor and the Moluccas. In Sudan since 1983 entire Christian villages have been destroyed, civil strife has taken two million lives and thousands of Christians, including children, are sold into slavery. Under harsh penalties the strict Wahhabi Islam of Saudi Arabia forbids any Christian church or outward symbol. When an American lawyer whom I was instructing in Catholicism was stationed by his firm in Saudi Arabia, I could not send him a Bible or the Catechism through the mails.
The exodus of Christians, including many of the Eastern rites, is enriching Catholic life in the West, but the Church's witness in the cradle of Christianity is enormously wounded. Many martyrs will be the seed for much grace, but in this month of World Missions, it is vital to recognize this suffering as a threat to the whole world. New Yorkers are not unaware of the desolation caused by fanatical hatred.
Fr. George W. Rutler
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Pontificate, our Holy Father received a personal gift of about $800,000 from his Cardinals, which he immediately gave to the persecuted Catholics in the Middle East. At the same time the Vatican journal La Civilta Cattolica described the "perpetual discrimination" suffered by Christians in Islamic lands. Before the Muslim invasions, Christians flourished in North Africa, producing Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine, Fulgentius and some of the most important theological schools. Few remain, notably the Copts of Egypt. The Ottomans conquered the flourishing Christian culture of Turkey, reducing it to about 100,000 today. The Middle East was devastated.
The attrition has been due in part to violent persecutions and longer periods of discrimination under a complex system in which Islamic law divided the world into dar al-harb (the house of war), dar al-islam (the house of Islam), and dar al-ahd (the house of accord). Islam has consistently challenged pagans ("the idolaters") with the choice of conversion or destruction. The "People of the Book," who are Christians, Jews, and related groups known as “Sabei” must be "fought" until "humiliated" (Qu'ran, Sura 9:29). People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab) are protected in exchange for taxes and obedience to numerous restrictions.
Between the end of the 19th century and World War I, a "Reawakening (Nahda)” movement in the Arab world freed up many of these regulations, aided by the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and reforms under French and British protectorates. Radical reaction to this by movements started by such as Hasan al-Banna and Abd al-Qadir ‘Uda now endangers Christian communities, making baptism a capital crime. In the last decade three million (about one-third) of Christians have fled the Middle East. In Algeria a bishop and many monks and nuns have been slain. Two years ago in Pakistan 18 Christians were shot while in church. In Nigeria several thousands of Christians have been attacked and the situation worsens in Indonesia, affecting Java, East Timor and the Moluccas. In Sudan since 1983 entire Christian villages have been destroyed, civil strife has taken two million lives and thousands of Christians, including children, are sold into slavery. Under harsh penalties the strict Wahhabi Islam of Saudi Arabia forbids any Christian church or outward symbol. When an American lawyer whom I was instructing in Catholicism was stationed by his firm in Saudi Arabia, I could not send him a Bible or the Catechism through the mails.
The exodus of Christians, including many of the Eastern rites, is enriching Catholic life in the West, but the Church's witness in the cradle of Christianity is enormously wounded. Many martyrs will be the seed for much grace, but in this month of World Missions, it is vital to recognize this suffering as a threat to the whole world. New Yorkers are not unaware of the desolation caused by fanatical hatred.
Fr. George W. Rutler
COS 2008 Financial Report Published
