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Posted on 07/03/2007 3:36:15 PM PDT by markomalley
Christians are facing renewed era of martyrdom, Vatican nuncio tells U.N. 7/3/2007
Catholic Online GENEVA, Switzerland (Catholic Online) – Christians are confronted with a renewed era of martyrdom in the Middle East requiring immediate international action of burden sharing to alleviate the problem of refugee resettlement and religious cleansing there, said a Vatican official to a United Nations body. In a June 25 intervention to the standing committee of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released July 2, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Vatican representative to U.N. agencies and other international organizations here, also pointed to the increasing global refugee population, now topping 32 million, and the loss of life of people crossing from Africa to Europe, the Canary Islands and the Arabian Peninsula, from the Caribbean islands and Mexico to the United States, and in some areas of Asia.
The Vatican nuncio called the U.N. office to find a solution to the problem of “the Middle East refugees and the worsening situation of ethnic and religious-minorities cleansing,” which seems to defy easy answers. “It seems that there is no way forward because of the inadequate acceptance of needy cases for resettlement and no way backward because of the impossibility of return due to persisting insecurity and refusal of coexistence among different religious communities,” he said. “Christians in particular are confronted with a renewed era of martyrdom,” he said, urging “necessary funding for an adequate response of the suffering of Iraqi refugees” which is not yet been made available. The pope, the nuncio noted, has appealed to world leaders to guarantee asylum for and protect the rights of refugees. “Burden sharing, both in terms of funds and provision of resettlement, remains a major challenge, as it is protection” in the Middle East, he said. The world is witnessing a “spiraling crisis of people obliged to move from their homes,” Archbishop Tomasi said, suggesting that the international community’s working toward solutions may be slowed by “some deficit of political will.” Yet, what has continued for years is “the terrible loss of life in the attempt to reach a safe haven on the part of thousands of people forced by desperate circumstances to look for survival outside their own country,” he said.
The Vatican delegation called the U.N. refugee office to work toward the study and coordination of policies of “this trans-regional problem” including legal channels for the movement of people and fair agricultural, financial and trade initiatives so that those in poorer countries are not put in a situation of “forced displacement.”
“A normative vacuum exists for the protection of these victims who meet death in trying to escape some other forms of physical or psychological death,” he said.
Archbishop Tomasi added that, “in the long run, a positive and preventive approach” requires “greater security, respect of human rights, effective political participation, the creation of jobs and an environment of peace” within the countries of origin of those who choose to migrate.
The Vatican nuncio said that today’s “forced displacements” of peoples and tomorrow’s migrations forced by the “consequences of climate change” now and will require the international community to draw upon “intellectual creativity and pragmatic programs of action.”
“Critical refugee and internally displaced people situations around the world call for a renewed commitment and an active engagement on the part of the international community,” he said. “It is an obvious form of solidarity within the human family.” |
ping for your respective lists...
The Lord promised nothing less.
The way I figure it, if you don't wind up crucified upside down in Rome, you're ahead of the game.
How is this Christian obsession with romantasizing martyrdom any different from Muslims waiting for their 70 virgins at the pearly gates? Other than hopping in a car and blowing up other people that is.
Hard to penetrate the burocrat-speak.
Because a certain man prophesied it would be a continuing characteristic of his followers almost 2,000 yeas ago.
Well, at the rate things are going, that too will probably happen before long. I’m not feeling very positive about the future for Christians.
Even so, LORD come.
The muslims are NOT going to make a martyr out of me.
Well, Christians really do want to go to heaven, but to get there all you need is faith in the Messiah as your replacement for the punishment you really deserve—going to hell. Therefore, there is nothing you can do to get you into heaven, but believe. No need to kill anyone. In fact, in loving your murderer and forgiving them, they may just become believers themselves after your death and then when you are standing before the Messiah on judgment day He will tell you of your great work and you are rewarded for bringing someone with you to heaven. Your murderer then becomes your brother. Interesting, eh?
“In further breaking news from the Vatican, the sun rose in the east this morning.”
There were 2 times the sun did not rise. Do you know when?
Okay, I’ll bite. When?
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>> How is this Christian obsession with romantasizing martyrdom any different from Muslims waiting for their 70 virgins at the pearly gates?
Well, that doesn’t make any sense. Really, it doesn’t.
The characterization of Christians suffering or escaping persecution as martyrdom could use some context. The article aptly points out:
“A normative vacuum exists for the protection of these victims who meet death in trying to escape some other forms of physical or psychological death,” he said.
Christians do not romanticize martyrdom. Rather we see martyrdom as a natural consequence of standing by our faith in a hostile world. For a Christian martyrdom happens. Our faith is active and martyrdom is passive. Muslims, on the other hand, pursue it actively. For them, what they call “martyrdom” is an act of war, a necessary consequence of harming “infidels” who will not bend to their will and the will of their “god”. It’s akin to the difference between night and day.
Guess you haven't read most of the threads in the Religion forum.
As others have iterated, martyrdom is one of the results of the Great Commission. If a Christian is murdered because of his proselytizing, it's not to be feared since there's a tangible benefit in heaven, though it's not specified. However, it's much more difficult to do mission work if you're dead, so the longer you can stay around to do it, the better.
In the pits of Hell, this saint faced his martyrdom.
His killer could not even look him in the face as he killed him.
I dont recall any Saint that acheived martyrdom by killing others. In fact, the opposite is the norm. They achieved martyrdom but refusing to yeild to an oppressors, and maintaining their beliefs.
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