Freedom that must be defended

The Orthodox Churches take action to defend persecuted Christians in the world. A few days ago, Moscow and Istanbul staged two important events that delved into this crucial problem of Christianity, with appeals to the international community and concrete proposals. In Moscow, the Patriarchate organized an international Conference on the freedom of religion, while in Istanbul the World Council of Churches has promoted a consultation on the religious rights of minority groups. The theme was addressed by the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill and by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. The figures. Christians are the world’s most persecuted religious community. Every five minutes a Christian dies for his faith, and each year 105.000 Christians die of violent death, as a result of religious conflicts. The countries most at risk are Egypt Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Indonesia, Eritrea and India. The International Conference on “Freedom of Religion: the question of Christians’ discrimination and persecution”, promoted by the Patriarch of Moscow, opened a few days ago in Moscow with a welcoming speech by the President of the Department for External Ecclesiastic Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow, Metropolitan Hilarion, who promoted the meeting and invited to Moscow, among other guests, the OSCE representative on combating intolerance and discrimination against Christians Massimo Introvigne. Panel speeches were delivered by representatives of the Catholic Church (Msgr. Paolo Pezzi, Archbishop of the diocese of Moscow, and Archbishop Edwin Joseph Ender) along with the members of the Orthodox Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Armenian and Assyrian. Metropolitan Hilarion urged the United Nations “to call upon Member countries to respect the generally accepted norms regarding religious freedom”. He said that in his view also the Pan-Orthodox Council of world Christian Churches should put the question of Christians’ persecution on their agenda. The President of the Human Rights Council Laura Lasserre in a video message to participants underlined that the freedom of conscience and religion is a fundamental human right, and called upon those present “to seek the ways to promote mutual understanding and tolerance, to prevent violence and discrimination against Christians”.The danger of Christians’ exodus from the Middle East. Participants were received by Partiarch Kirill, who voiced the cry of alarm of the persecuted Christian Churches: “One of the most emblematic tendencies of our times – he said – is the mass exodus of Christians from the Middle East and from North Africa, caused by an unprecedented increase in acts violence against religious minorities in the region”. For the Russian patriarch, forcing Christian minorities to leave the region risks paving the way to the “preachers of extremism”. That’s why the Patriarch said he agrees with the proposal emerged during the Conference to create a monitoring mechanism to “protect the rights of Christian communities and of all the faithful”, and to undertake “an open dialogue with the representatives of other faith communities”. At the end of the meeting participants drew up a final document which proposes the creation of “an international monitoring body” capable of providing assistance also with legal support, “effective for the protection of Christians and of Christian communities which are victims of persecutions or restrictions in their religious or professional life”. The delegates also said they are willing “to cooperate in the defense of Christian minorities in the regions where they are being persecuted. Such cooperation must include the exchange of information on the situation and the facts regarding Christians’ discrimination, along with material, legal and political support to persecuted Christians”. A culture of respect and the promotion of dialogue. While the conference was under way in Moscow, Istanbul hosted a consultation on the religious rights of minority groups, under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, promoted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Participants were received by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartolomew I of Constantinople who highlighted “the respect of the rights of all human beings and of their aspirations and rights to religious freedom, which must be considered as an important element in the promotion of mutual tolerance”. “We are called – said Patriarch Bartholomew I – to promote dialogue between all communities and peoples to create peace, harmony, and tolerance in a world that is facing violence, conflicts, and religious hatred”. Bartolomew thus invited all those present to address with determination the challenge of “the situations of hatred and intolerance”. He added: “enabling people to believe and to carry out the religious practices of a religion that is result of a free choice, is a right that belongs to all human persons”.