Colm Fitzpatrick
Ireland needs to step up to the plate in raising awareness and fighting against the global persecution of Christians, an Irish human rights organisation has said.
Church in Chains, a charity which encourages prayer and action in support of persecuted Christians worldwide, told The Irish Catholic that millions of Christians face persecution yearly and that the Irish Government must take “concrete steps” to end this.
Major speech
Speaking to the paper on this crucial issue, director of the charity David Turner said he would encourage Foreign Minister Simon Coveney to make a major speech on the importance of religious freedom in Ireland, noting that these types of speeches have been made in the past on important issues, and religious freedom should not be precluded from this.
Describing Ireland as “slow to voice” its concern for Christian persecution in places where trade could be affected, Mr Turner said the Government needs to focus its attention on religious persecution in particular countries, suggesting for example that Mr Coveney call on the ambassador of India to discuss the plight of Christians.
His comments come in the wake of Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s announcement last week that he has ordered a review into the plight of persecuted Christians around the world and how much help they get from Britain.
The Foreign Office estimates that some 215 million Christians faced discrimination and violence this year because of their faith. According to Mr Hunt, the international community must do more because “so often, the persecution of Christians is a telling early warning sign of the persecution of every minority”.
Church in Chains has welcomed this move and said the UK should be doing even more to help persecuted Christians worldwide.
“I welcome the fact that the UK Foreign Minister has ordered a review of the global persecution of Christians and said that the UK should to do more to help Christian victims of persecution. This is something that Church in Chains has also been calling for here in Ireland,” said David Turner, director of the charity. “Our recently-published Church in Chains Global Guide highlighted the fact that over 200 million Christians face persecution in sixty countries around the world.”
Priority
Mr Turner added that the Government also needs to prioritise this issue given how vocal it has been in the past on the protection of religious belief and freedom.
“The Department on Foreign Affairs here in Ireland is on record as saying that supporting freedom of religion or belief is one of their foreign policy priorities but we really need to see the Irish government taking concrete steps to prove this commitment.”