On August 22, 1939, Adolf Hitler, explaining his decision to invade Poland, asked, "Who after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

On the centennial of the massacre of the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, it is pertinent to ask, sixty-five years later, if the world is sufficiently aware of the persecutions of Christians, discrimination against them, the lack of respect shown for freedom of religion, and indeed the possible end of Christianity in the Arab and Muslim countries of the Middle East.

Pope appoints Archbishop Paul Gallagher, first ever Englishman as “Foreign Minister”, names Archbishop Dominque Mamberti to replace Cardinal Raymond Burke as “Chief Justice”

In a series of top level changes in the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has appointed the English-born Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher as Secretary for Relations with States – the third highest position in the Vatican.

Fr. Rif’at Bader, director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Amman, has said that His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein’s Speech from the Throne brought to the light several important issues, and reinforced the Kingdom’s historical and religious status which has been prevalent for several decades.

Rome
Leaders of Christian Churches in Jerusalem are watching with great concern as the events currently taking place in the Esplanade of the Mosques unfold. And they are calling all parties to respect the status quo, the understanding reached back in the days of the Ottoman Empire, which regulates relations between the various religious groups present in the area and protects the Holy Sites of all religions within the city.

The President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue speaks to Vatican Radio about the barbaric killing in Pakistan: “How can one stand by and watch when crimes religion declares to be legitimate are committed?”“I am shocked by the immense barbarity of this act…” This was how Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, reacted to the news about the brutal killing of two young Christian married couples, parents of four.

Aid to the Church in Need’s Religious Freedom in the World Report – 2014 shows a steep decline. Most of the countries where serious violations are witnessed, are Muslim. Christians are still the most persecuted.

Since the end of the Oct. 5-19 Synod of Bishops on the family, news outlets have portrayed the outcome as a "setback" or "loss" for Pope Francis -- even a "rebuke" to him.

Today’s General Audience was dedicated to the Church as a “visible reality”: We are all sinners and it is right that this should provoke displeasure in us, especially when we set a bad example. But the Church can represent Jesus. The Pope also sent out an appeal against the Ebola virus.

iacopo scaramuzzi
Vatican City

The questions presented by the Western media as relevant to the debate of the Synod on the family that has just finished, such as the re-admittance of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to the sacraments and homosexual relationships, are not a subject of discussion in Lebanon. In the Middle East the family has other priorities: above all, survival.

Jocelyne Khoueiry, director of the John Paul II Center, was interviewed to shed light on this issue:

Basima al-Safar retouches a picture of Jesus on an easel outside her house overlooking the flat Nineveh plains, 30 miles north of Mosul.

The murals she paints tell the story of her people, Christians in Iraq. But with Islamic State militants nearby, she is worried that life in Alqosh and towns like it could soon come to an end.