Genocide of Christians

Richard A. Sokerka

The State Department is planning to release a declaration of genocides taking place around the world shortly, but according to a group of 30 Christian leaders, which includes Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, it will either omit or reserve judgment on whether ISIS is committing genocide against Christians. To rectify this, the group is asking to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry in advance of the State Department’s declaration.

The group believes Middle East Christians should be included in any listing of genocide victims based on their treatment by the Islamic State, commonly called ISIS.

One reason given for the State Department not counting Christians as genocide victims, according to the group, is that it “lacks sufficient information about the experience of the Christian communities to conclude that genocide took place.”

Meeting with Kerry, the group said, would allow them “to present the available evidence of ongoing genocidal acts against Christians in Syria and Iraq at a level where it can be considered before a finding is made.”

In a letter requesting the meeting with Kerry, the group said, “The world recoiled when it learned that ISIS had stamped Christian homes in Mosul with the red letter ‘N’ for “Nazarene” in summer 2014, but the elimination of Christians in other towns and cities in Iraq and Syria began long beforehand. ISIS genocidal campaign against Christians continues today, with hundreds of Christians remaining in ISIS captivity, and with summary executions, including by beheadings and crucifixions, occurring as recently as only a few months ago.”

It added, “Pope Francis has called ISIS’ crimes against Christians by their proper name: ‘genocide.’ The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Christian leaders in the Middle East have done so as well. We agree, and are hopeful that, once you have seen the evidence, you will too.”

Our question to the Secretary of State is this: Why can’t our government see what Pope Francis sees so clearly — that the genocide of Christians by ISIS is real and ongoing?