Church asks for prayers for persecuted Christians
The Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines has declared Monday, November 6 as the National Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians.
On the said day, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has requested all parishes to use the votive mass, a Eucharistic celebration for special purposes or occasions, for persecuted Christians found in the Roman Missal.
According to a report entitled “Persecuted and Forgotten,” produced by the office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in the United Kingdom, not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, “but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the very worst forms of persecution.”
The report said most of the persecution is happening in countries where fundamentalist groups are present like Daesh (ISIS) in the Middle East and Boko Haram in Africa.
ACN said one of these countries is Iraq where “the exodus of Christians is so severe that one of the world’s most ancient Christian communities is on course to disappear within three years unless there is a dramatic change for the better.”
The UK report also included the atrocities of the Maute group against Filipino Christians during the Marawi siege.
The Ateneo de Manila Grade School will hold a Votive Mass for the Persecuted Christians on November 6, 2017, 6:30 a.m. at the Chapel of the Holy Guardian Angels, while the votive mass of the Aid to the Church in Need Philippines will be held at the CBCP Chapel in Intramuros, Manila at 11:30 a.m.
ACN believes praying for persecuted Christians will make Filipinos more aware and hopefully move many to compassion so that they could support suffering Christian communities through education campaigns, political advocacies and for those who are able, through financial help.
The amount to be raised, ACN said, will be forwarded to their headquarters in Germany where it will be disbursed to church communities as “financial aid” to help reconstruct destroyed churches and war-ravaged communities, as well as funding for humanitarian assistance, and support for the formation of the clergy, religious, and the laity among others.