Even in a predominantly Christian country, Filipinos could still face harassment and even death just by going to Mass.
This is the reality faced by Filipino Christians, according to Jonathan B. Luciano, national director of Aid to the Church in Need Philippines (ACN) who lived in some provinces, where Catholics belong to the minority religious group.
He said the infamous example of this was the threat in the Marawi Siege in 2017, which left the city in ruins after extremists aligned with Islamic State destroyed many houses and churches.
“When I spoke with [Marawi] Bishop Edwin de la Peña, he told me stories [about the siege], which you will not stomach if you have a weak faith,” Luciano lamented.
The most recent incident, Luciano said, was the bombing of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, which killed at least 20 people and injured many others.
He said Christian persecution in the Mindanao could increase in the coming years after he was informed by de la Peña of reports on the reemergence of supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in some of the area’s provinces.
“ISIS is once again regrouping in Marawi, or in some parts of Mindanao,” he said.
And yet, despite these imminent threats, many Christians still practice their faith in Mindanao.
Raising awareness
Luciano said they and other persecuted Christians worldwide will be recognized in the celebration of Red Wednesday campaign this coming week.
This year’s Red Wednesday will be held at 6:30 p.m. on November 27. The participating parishes and Catholic schools and universities will be lighting with red color their respective churches and school buildings to symbolize the martyrdom of Christians worldwide.
The highlight of the event will be the Mass at the Manila Cathedral which will be presided by Caloocan Bishop Pablo David. An ecumenical prayer will be joined by leaders of the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations.
“The objective of the Red Wednesday [campaign] is to wake us up of this reality, that we do not suffer such violence, persecution and oppression,” Luciano said.
Over 2,000 parishes will be joining this year’s nationwide Red Wednesday campaign.
During a press conference last Wednesday, Luciano noted the number of this year’s participants is significantly higher compared to those since Red Wednesday was launched in 2017.
“It started with just 30 [participating] Churches in 2017. It grew to 1,600 parishes last year. More than 2,070 parishes and institutions will participate in this year’s Red Wednesday,” Luciano said.
He attributed this to the rising awareness of Filipinos on the plight of persecuted Christians in the country and abroad.
Interreligious activity
This year, Luciano said the Red Wednesday campaign would be even more special since it will be joined by representatives from other Christian denominations.
“It is not only the Catholics who become martyrs. There are other Christians, who were martyred since they also profess that Christ is God,” he said.
Bro. Robert Samson of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Ecumenical Affairs Secretariat said interreligious dialogue and activities are important in combating religious persecution and discrimination since they focus on the shared values of each religion rather than their differences.
He said this could be fostered by activities, such as corporal works of mercy like visiting the sick or helping the poor, taking care of the environment and the Red Wednesday campaign.
“There are many things we could do [with the followers of other religion] for collaboration and peace building,” Samson said.
Institutional event
Luciano said they are requesting the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to institutionalize the Red Wednesday campaign in order to make it become an official Philippine Church event.
To support this, he said, they are now gathering feedbacks from participants of the previous Red Wednesday campaigns.
“All the feedbacks that we got are positive and they are supporting the institutionalization of Red Wednesday as an official Philippine Church event starting next year. Hopefully, we pray that this will be granted [by the CBCP],” Luciano said.
He pointed out the importance of institutionalizing the Red Wednesday campaign since “being persecuted is part of our DNA as Christians.”
“Our Lord Himself was persecuted. The Apostles where persecuted. The 90 percent of the early Christians were martyred,” Luciano said.
He said this is more apparent with the rising number of persecuted Christians worldwide with an estimated number of 300 million. Christians suffer not only discrimination but also sexual abuse and violent attacks, such as bombing, mutilation and murder.
“As Pope Francis said, Christians today are more persecuted compared to their counterparts in the early days of the Church,” Luciano said.
Image credits: CBCP News