At a time when so many Christians and other religious minorities around the world are being persecuted and even killed for their faith, people should raise their voices and stand in solidarity with them, Cardinal Donald Wuerl said at a Dec. 16 talk at the Catholic Information Center in Washington.
The cardinal discussed his recent book, To the Martyrs: A Reflection on the Supreme Christian Witness, published recently by Emmaus Road Publishing, and he signed copies of his book. He noted that from apostolic times through today, martyrs have witnessed to Christ through their lives and deaths.
“Today we have to recognize that martyrdom has been with us through the history of the Church, and it’s with us today,” the cardinal said.
Cardinal Wuerl discussed how 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians stayed true to their faith in Christ and were beheaded earlier this year by Islamic militants on a beach in Libya, and how he has met and heard accounts of Christians from Iraq and Syria who fled their homes and livelihoods to escape rampaging ISIS forces, escaping with their families and the clothes on their back, leaving where their ancestors have lived since the early days of Christianity.
“I learned a lot about perspective, about what really matters (from them). There’s a lot we can learn from the quiet heroism of people,” the cardinal said.
As this persecution has unfolded, Cardinal Wuerl said he has wondered, where are the voices denouncing this, from government leaders and parliaments around the world, and from campus and local communities, and from the media?
Atrocities happen, he said, for two reasons, “because people will commit them, and because too many people are silent.”
When asked what people can do about the situation, Cardinal Wuerl encouraged prayer, speaking out, and remaining true to Christian principles. “I would lift up in prayer, as I do every day, our sisters and brothers who suffer in the faith. Look for an opportunity to raise the issue and ask why is nothing being done? Email those who represent you in government,” the cardinal said.
The cardinal urged “that we don’t let any of this change how we live and deal with others. It would be a victory for those who persecute Christians, if we cease being Christian” in how we react. Through it all, Christians must remain committed to embracing peace, love, forgiveness and truth, he said.
Cardinal Wuerl also urged Americans to be vigilant in defending religious freedom. He noted how he took part in a ceremony a few years ago, in which the rebuilt Brick Chapel in St. Mary’s City was unlocked. The original building had been locked in 1704 by order of the royal governor, and Catholics at that time could no longer worship in public in Maryland, the birthplace of religious freedom in the United States which had been established six decades earlier on the principle of religious toleration.
“These freedoms are fragile and easily compromised and often lost,” said the cardinal.
The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on a case involving the Archdiocese of Washington and several other Catholic institutions, including the Little Sisters of the Poor, who filed lawsuits charging that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is trying to force Catholic institutions to violate Church teaching by providing health insurance coverage to employees for abortion inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures.
Cardinal Wuerl also noted the importance of religious tolerance, pointing out that he had joined other faith leaders earlier that day at an Interfaith Gathering for Solidarity, Understanding and Peace at Georgetown University. “It’s part of our national heritage to be tolerant of each other,” said the cardinal. As the cardinal rode in the popemobile with Pope Francis during the pontiff’s recent visit to Washington, he pointed out that he would see in the crowds the faces of people “from every ethnic background and religious tradition. It’s what makes us great.”
While martyrdom is the supreme Christian witness, Cardinal Wuerl said Christians in their everyday lives, whatever their circumstances, are called to reflect Jesus. “Not all of us are called to suffer or die for the faith. But all of us are called to witness to Christ,” he said.
Cardinal Wuerl praised the work of the group In Defense of Christians, which earlier that day had called together members of Congress and religious freedom experts to demand that the United States recognize that genocide against Christians is being committed in Iraq and Syria by ISIS.
After Washington’s archbishop spoke at the Catholic Information Center, Toufic Baaklini, the president of In Defense of Christians, spoke briefly, thanking the cardinal for participating in the IDC’s inaugural summit in 2014 in the nation’s capital, which brought together Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs from across the Middle East to highlight the suffering of Christians there. Cardinal Wuerl also helped lead an ecumenical prayer service at St. Joseph Church on Capitol Hill as part of the IDC’s 2015 summit.
Baaklini thanked Cardinal Wuerl “for making it your mission to stand with the persecuted church and to continue to be the voice of the voiceless.”
Cardinal Wuerl then signed copies of his book, To the Martyrs, for guests at the Catholic Information Center. One person who attended the cardinal’s talk and book signing, Michele Tennery, said she came “to join with him in solidarity with our suffering Christian brothers and sisters worldwide, as the cardinal unveiled his new book and discussed the martyrdom and persecution of Christians from the apostolic day to the present time.”
