Needs urgent attention

Christians in the Holy Land need relief. But it’s so bad there, they first need protection just to stay alive. AsiaNews has this insight and analysis I’ve been meaning to get to, hoping we can turn some collective attention to this crisis.

We do not want to snuff out any light, but if we think that we can defend Christians as an ethnic minority, as something separate from the rest of society, our steps in that direction can only be counterproductive and accentuate their difficulties. The fate of Christians in the Middle East is in fact closely related to the lack of peace and security in the region.

Pope Benedict met with officials from aid and relief agencies for Eastern churches, and told them how concerned he is for both Christian and Muslim communities there.

Benedict XVI appealed to “those who have specific responsibilities, that they may accept the vital duty of guaranteeing peace for everyone, without distinction, freeing [peace] from the mortal illness of religious, cultural, historical or geographical discrimination.”

This is why Christians do not seek special guarantees. All they need is a state that is sufficiently secular to guarantee everyone a chance to live and prosper “without religious discrimination.”

That’s at the heart of the fierce battles in the Mideast.

The place of Christians cannot be realistically separated from the general situation of the country in which they live nor can religious freedom be guaranteed independently of the wider context of human rights.

In addressing those who “those who have specific responsibilities,” the Pope was actually urging the United Nations and the governments of the East and the West to take direct action in favour of peace.

Good luck with that. Pray for a miracle of grace, because nothing short of that appears possible right now.

What we need is for someone in Italy and in Europe to take steps in favour of human rights and religious freedom, monitor their status and push for their broader applicability, which is something that might have political and economic consequences. It is especially important that a new peace conference be convened with all the nations of the region involved in order to reach a settlement guaranteed by peace treaties.

Ultimately, if our goal is to save Christians from persecution in the Middle East, it is first imperative that we find ways to implement a just and fair peace for the region.

If everybody prayed for that, and did something….anything…toward that goal, it could happen.

So, how do we call a new and urgent international peace conference?