This is the second in our "Christmas Triduum."
As I write this Christians in many parts of the world are streaming to churches for Midnight Mass and other vigil observances of the birth of the Prince of Peace. But in Biblical lands there is anything but peace.
The fact is that in predominantly Muslim countries Christians are under attack as never before. As Steve Huntley noted recently in the Chicago Sun-Times:
Post-Mubarak Egypt has seen a virtual pogrom against Christians. In one bloody episode Egyptian security forces joined a violent, club-wielding mob, murdering 60 Christians in Cairo and wounding another 300. Copts are one of the earliest Christian churches, predating the prophet Muhammad. But the unchecked violence towards them may cause the dispersion of hundreds of thousands of them. Copts as a group are also among most educated and prosperous Egyptians. This may explain the animosity towards them on the part of a poorer, more illiterate majority. But chasing them out of their home may create an economic and resource drain that can only worsen an already bad economy for everyone.
As bad as it is in Egypt it's worse in Palestine. The West Bank and Gaza, controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, respectively, have led the Mid East in the Diaspora of Christians. Thirty-five years ago Bethlehem , the birthplace of Jesus, was 100 percent Christian. Today Christians make up only a third of the population. Living in the Palestinian territories, Christians are governed by Islamic Sharia law.
And let's not even talk about Iraq. Iraq, where the ancient Tigris and Euphrates run. As recently as ten years ago was home to a Chaldean Christian church with nearly a million and a half members. Today, as the U.S. abdicates its responsibility to help build a stable, pluralistic society, the Chaldean church is down to 500,000 members and shrinking.
For t several summers past I can remember Arab Catholics from Bethlehem making the tour of the U.S. and visiting various churches. Their goal was to sell artifacts made of native olive wood to raise money for the support the of sacred Holy Land sites. This year they didn't come at all. Not a good sign.
Palestinians in Bethlehem assiduously ensure that the tiny town where Christ was born remains a tourist destination. But that is because the annual December pilgrimage there is the largest economic draw in town. The number of Christians left to keep and care for this site out of a sense of faith-based responsibility continues to dwindle. What happens when they all leave?
Just thought you might like to know.
As I write this Christians in many parts of the world are streaming to churches for Midnight Mass and other vigil observances of the birth of the Prince of Peace. But in Biblical lands there is anything but peace.
The fact is that in predominantly Muslim countries Christians are under attack as never before. As Steve Huntley noted recently in the Chicago Sun-Times:
Post-Mubarak Egypt has seen a virtual pogrom against Christians. In one bloody episode Egyptian security forces joined a violent, club-wielding mob, murdering 60 Christians in Cairo and wounding another 300. Copts are one of the earliest Christian churches, predating the prophet Muhammad. But the unchecked violence towards them may cause the dispersion of hundreds of thousands of them. Copts as a group are also among most educated and prosperous Egyptians. This may explain the animosity towards them on the part of a poorer, more illiterate majority. But chasing them out of their home may create an economic and resource drain that can only worsen an already bad economy for everyone.
As bad as it is in Egypt it's worse in Palestine. The West Bank and Gaza, controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, respectively, have led the Mid East in the Diaspora of Christians. Thirty-five years ago Bethlehem , the birthplace of Jesus, was 100 percent Christian. Today Christians make up only a third of the population. Living in the Palestinian territories, Christians are governed by Islamic Sharia law.
And let's not even talk about Iraq. Iraq, where the ancient Tigris and Euphrates run. As recently as ten years ago was home to a Chaldean Christian church with nearly a million and a half members. Today, as the U.S. abdicates its responsibility to help build a stable, pluralistic society, the Chaldean church is down to 500,000 members and shrinking.
For t several summers past I can remember Arab Catholics from Bethlehem making the tour of the U.S. and visiting various churches. Their goal was to sell artifacts made of native olive wood to raise money for the support the of sacred Holy Land sites. This year they didn't come at all. Not a good sign.
Palestinians in Bethlehem assiduously ensure that the tiny town where Christ was born remains a tourist destination. But that is because the annual December pilgrimage there is the largest economic draw in town. The number of Christians left to keep and care for this site out of a sense of faith-based responsibility continues to dwindle. What happens when they all leave?
Just thought you might like to know.
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