Assyrian Patriarchs Address Christian Persecution Conference in Hungary
AINA | Bar Daisan | Nov. 28, 2019
Budapest (AINA) — The Hungarian government hosted the 2nd International Conference on Christian Persecution in Budapest on November, 26-28, 2019, shedding light on the plight of Christians around the world (AINA 2019-11-26). More than 600 people from 40 countries participated, among them patriarchs, cardinals, politicians, and Christians from across the globe.
According to recent reports every day 11 Christians are killed for religious reasons. It is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time. Globally, there are 245 million persecuted Christians, which makes Christianity the most targeted religion on the planet.
The conference aims at putting political and social leaders in contact, while rebuilding the Christian communities in the Middle East and in Africa, where they suffer the most attacks.
Tristan Azbel, the Hungarian State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, opened the conference. According to the Catholic News Agency, he has been a driving force behind “Hungary Helps”, a government initiative to provide international aid specifically to persecuted Christian communities in the Middle East. The “Hungary Helps” program was set up by the government of Prime Minister Victor Orbán in 2017 to aid Christian communities that are suffering persecution.
“We have 245 million reasons to be here. This is how many people are persecuted daily because of their Christian belief,” said Azbel in his opening remarks.
In his plenary address to the conference, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that “Europe can only be saved if it finds its way back to the source of its true values, to its Christian identity.”