Posted on 11/05/2014 1:20:28 AM PST by naturalman1975
The Princes of Wales has condemned the 'horrendous and heartbreaking' persecution of religious minorities around the world and called on faith leaders to work together to enable religious freedom.
In a video address played at the House of Lords, the Prince spoke of his anguish at the plight of Christianity in the Middle East, the region of its birth.
The heir to the throne also urged faith leaders to ensure believers have respect for other religions instead of remaining ‘silent’ over the suffering of minorities.
Prince Charles made the remarks in a video message which was recorded ahead of the publication of a report which says Christians are the 'most persecuted religious minority'.
Describing religion as central to ‘our future as a free society’, he said the 'horrendous' events in Iraq and Syria had brought the subject of religious persecution 'to the forefront of the world's news' - but that it spread far wider.
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He added: 'It is an indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East – an area where Christians have lived for 2,000 years, and across which Islam spread in 700 AD, with people of different faiths living together peaceably for centuries.
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The Prince has become one of the most high-profile names to speak out about the persecution of Christians.
Last December, he held a reception in Clarence House in response 'to the growing plight of Christians threatened by persecution in the Middle East. Having listened to their concerns, I did my best to highlight the gravity of the crisis.'
In September he wrote a letter to Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, stating that he was 'heartbroken' by the situation in Iraq
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Prince Charles calls on Muslim leaders to stop 'indescribable tragedy' of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East
Huh?
It’s what Obama has been saying all along.
/s
If you look at the history in a lot of places it’s true. Not everywhere and not always, but living in peace has been shown to be possible if people want to do it.
The trouble is if even one group decides not to, it really is unlikely to work.
He better watch his mouth or the “Tories” will call him an extremist!
Interesting. Almost a very cordial British message with an “or else” implied. We all shall see ...
Prince Chuckie is a clueless wanker. I bet he’ll next call for them to use electric vehicle while rape and pillaging so that they don’t damage the earth and cause more global warming.
Yes, that’s what the terrorists and bloody-minded murderers need - a good, old fashioned, stiff British talking to.
Christians are allowed to live in peace under Muslims the way blacks were allowed to live in peace under Jim Crow, except worse.
Yeah, all those Crusades, Genocides, and Reformations were just all fun and games. /s
Under Sharia does he get to keep the title “Prince”?
I know him personally and he isn’t. The media has done a very good job of portraying in a particular way - especially the left wing media (which is a lot of it). They do it because on most issues - not all, but most - he’s a conservative and the media loves to make conservatives look stupid. Because of his constitutional role in the UK, he’s also limited in his ability to respond - if I’d been treated the way he was, I’d be tempted to introduce some newspaper editors and TV producers to the ancient delights of the Tower of London. But he can’t, even if he wanted to.
Yes, the environmental issues are one area where I do believe he is wrong - and he knows my view. But they get blown out of proportion at times - by speeches about that being highlighted, and many other things being almost totally ignored.
Glad someone with a high profile has started making some noise about this.
Really? The most powerful man in England can’t find a decent PR person to make sure his message is crystal clear? Sorry, I have read his own quotes. That wasn’t the spin of some evil dooer. He is an elitist who thinks he can save the world. If he truly was a conservative, he’d give the money back to the people of England and live an honest life.
Sure Chucky, sounds great. Bottom line is the civilized world needs to exterminate the cancer of radical Islam with extreme prejudice. Now.
Charles isn’t the most powerful man in England. He has great visibility and some degree of influence, but he’s about the only man in the country who is by constitutional definition incapable of attaining real power. Anybody else can, at least in theory, go into politics and wind up as PM.
Oh, and how many American leaders have the balls to make similar statements?
He could find one, but it would not constitutionally appropriate. The Prince of Wales is not a celebrity to be staged managed for reasons of PR. He has a particular constitutional role to play and he plays it.
I once asked him about this issue in the face of some reports in the media about one of his sons. He told me he came very close to phoning up the editor of a major newspaper and demanding they kill the story - which was largely (although not totally) false. The reason he didn't do it was because of the danger that a British newspaper editor might have obeyed him simply because he was their future King - and that would the thin end of the wedge - state censorship of the media by default. That's how he thinks of all these issues. He doesn't care if he is hated, He doesn't care if he is seen as a fool. As long as he feels he is doing his duty, he'll accept the abuse and the lies. People like me - his friends - don't like it. That's why I speak up for him, even though he probably wouldn't want me to. It makes me so angry to see the caricature of him that many people have accepted and that the media has promoted.
Is he an elitist? I'm far more of an elitist than he is, actually. He'd much rather not be a Prince - but he has been told from birth that it is his patriotic duty to his country, and sanctioned by the Church in which he has been raised. He sees his role as doing his duty to his nation. You may not like the idea of monarchy, but it is the form of government that the UK and more than a dozen other nations have and that their people want to have. This gives him a role to play whether he likes it or not.
If he truly was a conservative, he’d give the money back to the people of England and live an honest life.
I doubt you understand the financial situation. The Prince of Wales income comes from his landholdings and properties - mostly in the Duchy of Cornwall. He owns these properties in pretty much the same way as anybody else who has inherited wealth. Unless you call for all of those who have inherited wealth to hand it over to the people - a remarkably socialist position - I can't see the justification for saying he should. If the monarchy ended tomorrow, these properties would remain the property of Charles Windsor, private citizen. If anything, he'd have more power over them.
The only members of the Royal Family who are funded by the state are the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh - and in their case, it occurs because of a deal made with the British treasury over 200 years ago by George III that nearly all of the profits of the Crown Estate would be handed back to British people, in exchange for the government paying the costs of the Monarch and Consort. It was a very good deal for George III (at the time, it meant he got more money than he gave up) but for well over a century now, the balance has been the other way around. The Crown Estate generates over six times as much profit each year - paid into the Treasury for the use of the British government - than the government pays to the Queen and Duke (called the Sovereign Grant - it is set at 15% of the Crown Estate revenues). Currently the profit is about £200 million a year and in exchange for that the Sovereign Grant is therefore about £30 million (that grant funds the upkeep of the Royal Palaces, transports and security, and quite a lot of the tourism aspects of the Royal Family as well).
If the Monarchy was dissolved, unless the assets of the Royal Family were seized (which would be outright theft in many ways) Mrs Elizabeth Windsor would suddenly be entitled to the return of about £8 billion pounds of property and cash that she currently doesn't have access to.
(I don't generally share direct quotes, but he's said this to other people as well and it's appeared in the media before so no harm that I can see - and I quite like the turn of phrase).
I certainly don’t disagree - but not many public figures are going to say it - and most won’t even go as far as the Prince has.
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