(Vatican Radio) Christians and minorities in conflict areas of the Middle East are in need of protection, since religious communities are no longer able to live together in peace, according to the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Yves Daccord.In an interview with Vatican Radio, Mr. Daccord outlined the worst humanitarian crises in the world at the moment, saying climate change and third-party intervention have aggravated conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Northeastern Nigeria, which have displaced millions in recent years.Listen to the full interview: Community separation leads to tensions"The social fabric of the Middle East is being destroyed, and what happens in Iraq, Syria, or Yemen - for a different reason - is that different communities were able to live together, including minorities," Yves Daccord said.He said what most worries him over the last few years is "a separation of the communities". This th...
(Vatican Radio) Christians and minorities in conflict areas of the Middle East are in need of protection, since religious communities are no longer able to live together in peace, according to the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Yves Daccord.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Mr. Daccord outlined the worst humanitarian crises in the world at the moment, saying climate change and third-party intervention have aggravated conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Northeastern Nigeria, which have displaced millions in recent years.
Listen to the full interview:
Community separation leads to tensions
"The social fabric of the Middle East is being destroyed, and what happens in Iraq, Syria, or Yemen - for a different reason - is that different communities were able to live together, including minorities," Yves Daccord said.
He said what most worries him over the last few years is "a separation of the communities". This then leads to tensions and "pressures against minorities, like Christians, but also between Sunni and Shia [Muslims]".
Mr. Daccord called on all parties to keep communities from seeking revenge or engaging in ethnic cleansing.
"We need to remind all state parties to a conflict that their first responsibility is to care for civilians, starting with minorities."
Worst humanitarian crisis: Yemen
He said one of the worst crises in the world today is the situation in Yemen.
The health system there, he said, is a good example because the Red Cross recorded 150 attacks against hospitals in 2015.
"It's no surprise today that the system is so weak that it can't absorb shock, and then you have a cholera crisis".
Mr. Daccord said this merely compounded the already-dire humanitarian disaster. "People have little-to-no food anymore. All food comes from the outside."
Root causes
When asked about the causes of the crises in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Northeastern Nigeria, Yves Daccord said there is a "juxtaposition of problems".
One, he said, is climate change.
"We always forget, but Syria had clear climate change issues long before the war, where rural people had to leave to go to town."
Another, according to Mr. Daccord, is the intervention of third parties.
"All of them are internal conflicts which have become internationalized. They are first and foremost conflicts between people and their government, and then suddenly other powers come in, either directly or through proxy, which makes it extremely complex for the people and extremely complex for humanitarians to intervene."
Facade of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons / EEJCCACI Prensa Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).One year after the Spanish newspaper El País published the report "Diary of a Pedophile Priest," which recounted the sexual abuse of minors committed in Bolivia by the deceased Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas, journalists from ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, went to the South American country to look into the political implications of the case, how the scandal has affected the Church's image in Bolivia, and the response of the civil justice system.Pedrajas, better known as "Padre Pica," arrived in South America in the early 1960s as part of his formation process with the Jesuits. For 10 years he lived in Peru and Ecuador, where he allegedly committed his first abuses while still a seminarian, and in 1971 he settled permanently in Bolivia.There the Society of Jesus appointed him assistant principal of the John XXIII Insti...
The members of the general board of directors of the Regnum Christi Federation, before its first general convention from April 29 to May 4, 2024, in Rome. / Credit: Regnum ChristiACI Prensa Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).The Regnum Christi Federation will hold its first general convention in Rome from April 29 to May 4, the first such assembly since its statutes were approved in 2019 after a long process of listening, purification, and a hopeful look toward its future.The ecclesial movement was shaken to the core by the revelation of numerous cases of sexual abuse and abuses of power primarily involving Father Marcial Maciel, the deceased founder of the Legionaries of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement.The Regnum Christi Federation is comprised of four vocations: the Legionaries of Christ (priests), Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, and lay members.Regnum Christi is now defined as an apostolic body and spiritual family led by ...
Gia Chacón (right), founder of March for the Martyrs, said the plight of the tens of thousands of Christian Armenians pushed out of their homes in the disputed Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh region hash been "completely overlooked by the mainstream media." / Credit: EWTN News Nightly / ScreenshotCNA Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 09:20 am (CNA).Marchers are setting out in the nation's capital on Saturday to call attention to the plight of persecuted Christians throughout the world.Gia Chacón, founder of For the Martyrs and the March for the Martyrs, said the event aims to highlight often "overlooked" victims of persecution. This year's march will focus on the persecution suffered by Armenian Christians as well as those in Nigeria and Iran.In an interview with "EWTN News Nightly" anchor Tracy Sabol, Chacón said she started the initiative to both increase awareness and provide aid for persecuted Christian communities throughout the world.Chacón explained that the decades-long conflict ...