Aid for the Church in Need has asked Catholics in Aotearoa New Zealand not to forget about the suffering Church in other parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East and in Nigeria.
ACN is a pontifical foundation that supports persecuted Christians. On November 30, they held a “Witness of Faith” night at the St Joseph and St Patrick Cathedral in Auckland.
ACN national director for Australia and New Zealand Bernard Toutounji said that the organisation’s purpose is to do “anything that assists to keep the faith alive in those places where it is [at] grave risk”.
“This [witness of faith] is really part of the sharing process, and letting people realise that the Church is bigger than just what we know in New Zealand and Australia. That experience of suffering is not one that we will be aware of here to any great degree,” he said.
Auckland Bishop Stephen Lowe, Archbishop of Beirut of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church of Beirut and Byblos Georges Bacouni, Melkite Catholic Bishop for Oceania Bishop Robert Rabbat were at the event. Mr Toutounji presented the speakers.
Living life in war and poverty
Archbishop Bacouni said that he has lived most of his life in a time of war, being only 13 years old when the civil war in his country started in 1975. His father passed away the following year.
“We went into Mass for my father, and they bombed the surroundings of the church. My brother, my cousin and I were wounded. And I still keep a shrapnel [piece[ in my back until today,” he said.
Before the war ended in 1990, he discerned God’s call and discovered God’s love. “When I discovered this, it was still war at that time, I decided to love him,” he said.
There was a brief period of peace from the time he became a priest in 1995 to the time he was elected Bishop of Tyre in South Lebanon in 2006. A few months later, the Israel-Hezbollah war began.
“Half of my diocese’s churches and halls and presbyteries were destroyed . . . [and] I had to deal with victims’ families. As a result of this war, [there was much ] building and restoring,” he said.
In 2011, when he was appointed administrator of the Diocese of Homs, the war between Syria and Lebanon broke out, and he had to leave after a few months. He became the Bishop of Galilee in 2014 and then, at the end of 2018, the Bishop of Beirut.
“I arrived and, after a few months, the economic system collapsed. The Lebanese currency collapsed, almost bankrupt, and the social security system collapsed,” he said.
“Perhaps, I have some virus,” he joked, as he noted how bad things seemed to follow him. Adding to the pressure of an already bankrupt economy was the Beirut blast in 2020, the biggest non-nuclear explosion in history.
“It was in my diocese also. In my place, there were 12 people wounded. Not only churches were damaged but many, many houses, apartments, offices . . . [it was a] disaster,” he said.
But through it all, he said, he knew the Lord loved him.
“What pushed me to continue to keep on [is] I am sure the Lord loves me even though I am experiencing all these. And the divine providence, you feel it, you see it, you experience it every day on a daily basis,” he said.
State of distress
ACN Middle East coordinator Xavier Bisits, who also shared his story, said that the main message is “there are some parts of the world where the Church is really in a state of distress”.
“It’s tremendously difficult to run a congregation or a diocese now in the Middle East,” he said.
Mr Bisits stressed that “all the Christians in the Middle East are original Christians”.
“They are not new converts. They’ve been Christians for centuries, and they are the ones who spread Christianity to the world,” he added.
However, Mr Bisits said, “there is a real threat to the Christian presence” which is “very much exacerbated by the Islamic extremism which exists in many parts of the Middle East”.
He said that, in a small town called Idlib in Syria, only 600 Christians are left after thousands fled the militias who have been confiscating Christian homes. Idlib is not too far from Antioch where the word “Christian” was first used.
Two Franciscan priests, whose predecessor had been killed earlier, are ministering in this area under extremely difficult circumstances.
“There is very much a real risk of violence, and the monastery has regularly been threatened,” said Mr Bisits.
A particularly strong earthquake in February, 2023, has made an already dire situation worse.
Mr Bisits said that, because of the wars, as well as economic crises both in Syria and Lebanon, the Church is impeded in carrying out its pastoral as well as humanitarian mission.
He said that, in Lebanon, financial help can support priests going through difficult times, allow Catholic schools and universities to remain open, fund pastoral work such as camps for children, as well as buy solar power equipment, which is a great need.
Mr Bisits said that Christians in the Middle East live their faith “with an intensity not seen in the West”.
“We nee to pray for them and support the Catholic Church there,” he said.
Vibrancy of faith
Due to passport problems, Sr Majella from Nigeria couldn’t share her experiences in person. However, her story of faith was equally worthwhile to hear.
She told of a young seminarian, Michael Nnadi, who was kidnapped, and was subsequently killed by his captors because he (Michael) wouldn’t stop preaching the Christian faith.
Sr Majella said that God has a mission for each of us, though some people’s tasks are more dangerous than others.
At the end of the programme, Bishop Lowe thanked the speakers ,and asked for support for the suffering Church.
“I think for us, we can take for granted just how easy it is to live our lives in New Zealand, and yet, where’s the vibrancy. Tonight, we heard about the people persecuted for their faith and they are vibrant for their faith, and they stand for us as true witnesses of the faith. Let’s continue to pray for them,” he said.
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