Annual Conference of Aid to the Church in Need - 22nd October 2011

(Christian Persecution Worldwide) ‘The Arab Spring or Christian Autumn?’

This was the annual conference of Aid to the Church in Need and was was held at Westminster Cathedral and after in the Cathedral Hall.

Latin High Mass was celebrated in a packed Westminster Cathedral. This was a beautiful occasion with people from many countries joining together in prayer. After Mass there were some 300ticket holders who moved into the Cathedral Hall for the conference. We were among them. A notable number of people were from other Christian traditions besides Catholics. I spoke with a man from Hastings, a Baptist, who was attending on behalf of his church because of the help they had received from ACN in rescuing their overseas missionaries.

AID to the CHURCH in NEED is a Catholic charity set up to help Christians who need support…. legally, politically, and physically. The charity attempts to reach the Christian individual who is held captive, is tortured, is given a death sentence… for being a Christian…. traditions helped as well as Catholics are Orthodox, Coptic, Armenian, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist etc. Aid to the Church in Need have under cover volunteers, ordinary Catholics, in over 700 countries worldwide. It is very  dangerous, life threatening, voluntary work, but it is essential work for Christ. These brave people rely on our prayers and our donations.

This year’s conference was “The Middle East – Spring or Autumn for Christians?” The day focused on Christians in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and key issues were discussed relating to the persecution of Christians and religious freedom.

The opening speaker was the Right Honourable Ann Widdecombe who is the Special Envoy for Religious Freedom. She gave us inside information on how to get the attention of our MP to ask him/her to put forward your concern in Parliament.
Never write a formula letter or add your name to sheets bearing thousands of other names, these sheets are filed in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament and never reach the desk of your MP. She made a serious point that it was easier for her to obtain the attention of the House if she was making a plea on behalf of Save the Hedgehogs, of which she is the Patron, than Save the Christians, for whom there was little attention and time given by the Honourable Members.

Three other speakers with hands on experience of work in the Middle East,( Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt) were Monsignor Robert Stern from New York ACN, Neville Kyrke-Smith, director of ACN who is a regular visitor to beleaguered Christian communities, and John Pontifex who reports to the charity on his fact finding visits/tours of the Middle East. These men have experienced horrific situations of Christians suffering for their Faith. Your prayers and charitable donations are desperately needed. Please do not forget the Church Suffering world wide.

Caroline and Lee