Knights of Columbus Unveil New Campaign to Aid Middle-East Christians

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — As Christians continue to face unprecedented persecution — especially in the Middle East — the Knights of Columbus have announced a new campaign to send humanitarian aid and raise awareness about their plight.

“Pope Francis has urged the international community to take action to help Christians in the Middle East, and as an organization that has long supported victims of religious persecution, the Knights of Columbus is responding by asking our own members, and the public at large, to help us save the lives of people who are being persecuted simply because of their Christian faith,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said in a July 24 press release.

The details of the new program will be announced at an Aug. 4-6 international convention in Philadelphia, but for now, a television commercial has begun airing nationally to raise awareness about the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

The Knights launched their Christian Refugee Relief Fund last August, with a $1-million matching fund, but the need for support still remains great today. To date, the organization and its members have given more than $3 million in support of the cause.

In her July 22 article for The New York Times Magazine, “Is This The End of Christianity in the Middle East?” Eliza Oswold cited a Pew study that said that Christians are now facing more persecution “than at any time since their early history.”

Anderson voiced his concern over the lack of attention given to the issue saying, “Christians in the Middle East are facing a dire situation — and even extinction — while the response from the international community has been woefully inadequate.”

August 7, 2015

Dear Brother Knight,

During my annual report at our Supreme Convention this week, the delegates from every jurisdiction in our Order stood and held up an olive wood cross made in Bethlehem as a pledge of support for our brothers and sisters suffering persecution in the Middle East. Then, at our States Dinner, we heard stirring testimony from Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, and Archbishop Jean Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo, Syria. Rarely in the history of our Order have we heard such words, delivered by men who daily risk their lives for the Faith.

We have already donated more than $3 million to this cause, and, as an Order, we have pledged to redouble our efforts to do even more.

Please visit http://www.ChristiansAtRisk.org and help support these brave men and women who have lost everything, simply for their belief in the One who taught us to love one another.

As I noted in my report on Tuesday, we need “a season of truth,” to help bring their story to the attention of the world. I also said:

In Iraq alone, the Christian population has fallen by at least two-thirds, from 1.5 million to less than 400,000. Many of these Christians have fled to the city of Erbil.

In Syria, almost 10 percent of the population is Christian. There, too, violence against Christians has caused a refugee crisis. Thousands have fled for their lives to escape forced conversion and martyrdom.

Just days ago, a headline in The New York Times asked, “Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?”

The world remains largely silent. These refugees’ cries for help remain largely unheard. ... But neither the United States government nor the United Nations are doing enough.

The blood of these martyrs cries out to heaven for justice. And the blood of these martyrs cries out to you and to me for help.

Through our Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief Fund, we have already delivered more than $3 million to assist our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria. Our dollars provide housing and medical care, but we can and must continue to do more.

The Holy Father has also expressed his support for this initiative. The papal greeting to our convention, read Tuesday, was clear.

On the issue of the “protection of religious freedom,” and “in response to the attacks unleashed on minority communities, most often Christian, in various parts of our world,” the letter noted that Pope Francis is “profoundly grateful for the efforts of the Knights to raise public attention to this grave humanitarian tragedy.”

It also expressed the pope’s gratitude “for the practical solidarity shown to suffering individuals and families through the recently established Christian Refugee Relief Fund.” And the pope asked the Knights and Catholics throughout the world to pray for “a conversion of hearts, an end to fanatical violence and intolerance, and a general recognition of those fundamental human rights which are not granted by the state, but from the hand of the Creator, whom all believers invoke as a God of peace.” The letter expressing the pope’s sentiments was signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

So once again, I ask for your renewed support for these brave, persecuted Christians. Please visit www.ChristiansAtRisk.org to learn more about what is happening there, to help us bring attention to their cause, and to help us support these Christian refugees financially.

Every penny of your donation directly supports humanitarian assistance and raising awareness for persecuted Christians and other religious minorities, especially in the Middle East.

Sincerely,

Carl Anderson
Supreme Knight

Knights of Columbus
1 Columbus Plaza
New Haven, CT 06510
(203) 752-4000

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