CWN - Christians are an “endangered species” in the Middle East today, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius III Younan said in an August 2 address to the Knights of Columbus convention in Toronto.
“The very existence of Eastern Churches, those churches that come from the apostles’ time, is at stake, in danger,” the Syrian prelate said. He said that Islamic aggression endangered the existence of the faith in the region, and denounced the apathy of Western leaders.
The Syriac Patriarch went on to criticize nations that have formed alliances with Islamic states despite the failure of the latter to respect fundamental human rights, particularly the right to religious freedom. “It’s not honest or sincere to be allied to such a regime, and to say we have an annual report about religious freedom,” he said, in what appeared to be a clear reference to the US.
References: