fbpx
 
Donate
 

Press Release  – #RedWednesday, November 20, 2019 – Stones and Prayers

18.11.2019 in ACN Canada, ACN PRESS, Adapted by Amanda Bridget Griffin, By Mario Bard, International Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need, Journey with ACN, Persecution of Christians, Press Release, RED WEDNESDAY

Press Release  – For Immediate Release

 

#RedWednesday, November 20, 2019

Stones and Prayers

A show of solidarity with persecuted Christians!

 

The face of at least five monuments will be illuminated in red this year across Canada.  Of them: Mary-Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal and Saint Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto.

 

Montréal, November 18, 2019 – This Wednesday, November 20, Aid to the Church in Need Canada is inviting all Canadians to participate in Red Wednesday events (#RedWednesday).  For the occasion, five stone monuments will be lit up in red:  Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal, Saint Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto, Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Calgary, the entrance of the Grand Seminaire de Montreal and the Hungarian Embassy in Ottawa located in the historic Chateau Birkett building. 

 

In the diocese of Calgary, more than 80 activities are already planned. “I believe that more and more Canadians are aware of the problems connected to the lack of religious freedom in the world, and in particular, of the situation of over 327 million Christians living in  persecution stricken countries,” says Marie-Claude Lalonde, National Director of ACN Canada.

 

 

A Great International Movement

 

The events planned in Canada open an entire week of events taking place across the world until November 27.  In at least 15 countries, moments of prayer and information sessions have been organized along with monuments and buildings to be lit in red. To date it has been announced that there will be over 2,000 in Philippines and 120 in the United Kingdom in order to bring awareness to questions related to religious freedom and the persecution of Christians.

 

In Canada, there are several ways to offer a show of solidarity:

  • Participate in one of the planned events listed at this address acn-canada.org/red-wednesday/ or call : 1 (800)585-6333 or by email at info@acn-canada.org.
  • Find out more about the situation of Christians through the Persecuted and Forgotten? 2017-19 Report https://acn-canada.org/persecuted-and-forgotten/
  • Share the information on social media using the hashtag: #RedWednesday
  • Wear red on November 20th
  • Pray for persecuted Christians around the world in small or large groups and for all who suffer because of a lack of religious freedom.

 

Among the many scheduled activities taking place Canada-wide we would like to highlight a few:

  • Mass will be celebrated at 7:30 pm at the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in Montréal,
  • An ecumenical prayer vigil will be held at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto, also scheduled for 7:30 pm.
  • Mass will be celebrated at Saint Mary’s Parish in Banff, Alberta at 6:30pm.

 

ACN Press Release: Red Wednesday 2019 – On November 20th, all across Canada Show your solidarity!

12.11.2019 in ACN Canada, Adapted by Julie Bourbeau and Amanda Griffin, RED WEDNESDAY, Violence against Christians

Red Wednesday 2019
On November 20th, all across Canada
Show your solidarity!

 

Montréal, November 12, 2019 – For the second year in a row, Aid to the Church in Need Canada (ACN) is organizing and coordinating Red Wednesday – #RedWednesday – a day of action to raise awareness of the plight of more than 300 million Christians around the world who live in countries where religious persecution is rampant.  On November 20th, support them!

 

“I invite people organizing an activity as part of this day to contact us so that we can announce it on the ACN Canada website,” says Marie-Claude Lalonde, National Director. One of the proposed activities is to illuminate in red an emblematic building, whether religious or civil. “This year, there are new participants: the Grand Séminaire de Montréal – which will be partially illuminated – and the pro-cathedral of The Assumption in North Bay, where prayers will be said at the 12:05 Mass  in solidarity with persecuted Christians.” Along with the liturgies that will be celebrated at the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in Montréal, the Grand Seminaire de Montréal and St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto will also be illuminated. Finally, in the Diocese of Calgary, activities should be announced shortly. In this diocese last year, more than 50 activities were scheduled. To learn more about the 2019 edition and find materials to participate: https://acn-canada.org/red-wednesday/ .

 

Persecuted and Forgotten? 2017-19: A deepening crisis

In Canada, November also marks the release of a biennial ACN report on religious freedom around the world. “This year’s report, which documents exclusively the situation of Christians, does not have anything good to say. In Persecuted and forgotten? 2017-19, we fear for the survival of the historic Christian communities of Syria, but even more so those of Iraq,” explains Mrs. Lalonde. Since 2003, the number of Christians has decreased by 90%, from 1.5 million to less than 150,000. The most pessimistic speak instead of 120,000.

 

“Despite the efforts of our organization to rebuild Christian towns and villages in the Nineveh plains, we fear that the Christian presence in Iraq will be a thing of the past in only a few years. We’ve been talking about it for years, but it seems like the international community is giving no concrete answer to this threat of extinction,” said Mrs. Lalonde.

 

She also pointed out that between 2017-19, the situation in South and East Asia deteriorated the most. “In India, attacks on Christians took place in 24 of the 29 states of the subcontinent, and there are anti-conversion laws in nine states. Hindutva – Hindu nationalism – is partly responsible for this. It advocates the return of a purely Hindu India where only religious traditions derived from it (Buddhism, Jain, Sikh) would be recognized. On the contrary, Christianity and Islam are seen by the promoters of Hindutva as foreign elements that cannot participate in the construction of the country. ”

Photo: Cross desecrated in the remains of a burned church (Egypt).

Finally, sub-Saharan Africa is more than ever under attack. “Christians and moderate Muslims are victims of groups claiming to be Islamic State (IS). In Nigeria, 19 people who attended Mass – including two priests – were killed by armed men and responsibility for the attack was claimed by Fulani Islamist shepherds,” said Lalonde.

She concluded, “In 2020 I will have been National Director for 20 years, and I have not seen a decrease in the persecution against Christians. It’s very difficult. However, events such as Red Wednesday, and the growing interest of more and more Christian communities in Canada to organize an event, give me hope. It does not solve anything right away, but it may be the beginning of a better knowledge that people will have about this global phenomenon.”

 

Nigeria: Already in 2015, the diocese of Maiduguri was targeted by Boko Haram. In this photo, Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme visits a church that was burned by terrorists.

  

 

To read the report Persecuted and Forgotten? 2017-19, visit the ACN Canada website at https://acn-canada.org/persecuted-and-forgotten/

 

 

*ACN’s articles and press releases are given freely for partial or full publication on condition that ©Aid to the Church in Need is mentioned as the source.

*ACN’s articles are given freely for partial or full publication on condition that
©Aid to the Church in Need is mentioned as the source.  If you would like to use an original photo, or for an interview with the National Director, Marie-Claude Lalonde, please contact us at the contact details above. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, is a Pontifical Charity, which has as Mission to provide assistance to Catholics, wherever the Church suffers from poverty or persecution. The international charity operates offices in 23 countries including Canada, who together support projects in 139 countries. (our Annual Report).

ACN PRESS: Red Wednesday – 2019 A Second Edition in Canada

24.10.2019 in ACN BENEFACTORS, ACN Canada, ACN International, Adapted by Julie Bourbeau and Amanda Griffin, Persecution of Christians, RED WEDNESDAY

Red Wednesday 2019

A Second Edition in Canada
Will you participate?

 

Montréal, October 23, 2019 – As the results of the latest Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International Report on the persecution of Christians 2017-19 are coming out around the world today, the Canadian announces that the 2nd edition of Red Wednesday, an event to raise awareness and educate about the persecution of Christians around the world and the importance of religious freedom, will be held on Wednesday, November 20. Red Wednesday is also a moment to demonstrate in solidarity with persecuted Christians.

As was done last year, a Mass will be celebrated at 7:30 pm at the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in Montréal, while an ecumenical prayer vigil will be held at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto, also scheduled for 7:30 pm. Both events will be presided over by the archbishops of these two dioceses, Msgr. Christian Lépine and Cardinal Thomas Collins, respectively.

Marie-Claude Lalonde, National Director of ACN Canada, is delighted by the attention given to the event this year by the Chancellor of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal, Mr. Guy Guindon, Sulpician. “The historic building of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal will be lit up in red and the seminarians will hold a vigil on Thursday, November 21, at the historic chapel,” she said before adding: “We are also waiting for news from the Diocese of Calgary. Last year, more than 50 activities were organized there.” The Red Wednesday tradition began in the United Kingdom a few years ago and has been taken up by several national ACN offices around the world, including France, Italy and the Philippines.

Those interested in recognizing this day can now visit the micropage created by the Canadian office at acn-canada.org/red-wednesday/. Whether preparing a time of prayer in a parish, a Mass, or by illuminating any emblematic building in their part of the country – church, diocesan centre, cathedral, basilica, etc. – they are invited to join us so that we can spread the word of this gesture of solidarity to all Canadians. At 1 (800)585-6333 or by email at info@acn-canada.org.

Iraq: 90% less than in 2003 

Furthermore, ACN announces the release of its new report devoted exclusively to the persecution of Christians around the world. Among the major issues addressed in this report, including the situation in Nigeria and that in south and southeast Asia, that of the Christian communities in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, is simply alarming.

A map showing the countries overview in the new Report Persecuted and Forgotten 2017-19, availalble next week in PDF Format on the web site of Aid to the Church in Need Canada. (© ACN)

“They are more than ever in danger of disappearing,” said Marie-Claude Lalonde. In 2003, there were 1.5 million Christians. “In little more than a generation, their numbers have tragically decreased by 90% to 150,000! Unfortunately, we believe that the international community has failed to take concrete action on the very strong concerns it expressed in 2016 when some governments recognized the genocide of Christians by the Islamic State group (Daesh/ISIS). According to our partners in the field, if these terrorists were to come back in force and reattack the Nineveh Plain, an ancestral site of Iraqi Christians, it would practically be the death of Christianity in Iraq, even though it is more than 1,900 years old! “Mrs. Lalonde said sadly.

 

 

The full findings of the report will be available in PDF format on the Canadian office’s website the week of October 28th.


For more information on Red Wednesday and Aid to the Church in Need, visit the website: acn-canada.org/red-Wednesday.