Matthew 24 is pretty clear: Jesus said: You will be put out of the synagogues(churches), persecuted, and killed…
This is nothing new, and since the Pope kind of alluded to it, read “Foxes book of Martyrs” There is arguably no other account other than scripture itself that testifies to the Bibles ability to change and influence peoples lives, changing them into Saints!

Theophile, Just because Jesus said it’s bound to happen doesn’t mean we should just stand by and let it happen.  Obama’s silence is deafening…he has already stated -in Cairo, in fact - that America is a post-Christian nation - the largest Muslim nation in the world (what?).  Shouldn’t this worry us just a little bit?  This is unprecedented in the United States to have a president who is so accepting to the muslim world.  People in this country need to know about this.

Jesus also said the poor will always be with us - he wasn’t saying that that gives us an excuse not to try to help them out.

Obama is EVIL

Bishop Mansour : Open Letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President:
I am terribly disappointed with the rebuff of Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai who is the Catholic leader of the Maronites worldwide and one of the most respected Christian leaders in Lebanon and the Middle East.  The motto of his coat of arms reflects his personality and is call for “communion and love”. He has been trying to achieve what no other Middle Eastern political or a religious leader has been able to do: meet others with respect and love, not take sides, and build bridges to a future that will hopefully lead to peace and happiness for all people in the Middle East.
 
Muslim and Christian groups have all found in him a real father, a Patriarch. Because he has spoken out expressing his concern for the future of Christians in the Middle East, he has been rebuffed by you and your Administration. It is pure hypocrisy for the leader of the free world to refuse to meet with Patriarch Rai especially since the Prime Minister of Israel can come and completely disregard essential parts of a peace plan and still be given a warm welcome, and the King of Saudi Arabia, where Christians have no freedom whatsoever, can be received with highest honors. Mr. President, you are ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle East!
 
Patriarch Rai’s warning about the future of Christians in Syria is not taboo. Christians are in a state of peril in the same way that Christians of Iraq were a few years ago when two thirds of them migrated out of the country and are still not protected to this day. To say the Patriarch supports dictators and sides with terrorists is pure nonsense. With his own unique charisma, Patriarch Rai has reached out to all Lebanese with whom he has to live side-by-side. It is a beautiful outreach, one that is uniquely his, without having to be beholden to anyone. He speaks with love and tempers the divisive, hateful talk of many. He gives hope
 
A new day is dawning in the Middle East. The Arab Spring is happening with little vision for the summer that will ensue. Mr. President, you do not have to agree on everything with Patriarch Rai, but there is no need to avoid or rebuff him.  By doing so, you are showing your disrespect for him and for all Christians of the Middle East.
 
+ Gregory J Mansour
Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklynhttp://www.bkerkelb.org/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=319:open-letter-to-president-obama&catid=71:divers&Itemid=112

You were expecting what?  from a Muslim president in chief of liars?

We Christians in the United States need to really, really be concerned about the persecution of Christians in the United States as well.  Moral relativism has replaced Christianity and if a faithful Christian speaks up on things that are considered controversial we are ridiculed,labeled as being intolerant and told to keep “our God” out of the market place. I am also tired of all of the so called political correctness during Christmas. I was watching tv yesterday and someone on HSN mentioned a holiday tree. It’s not a holiday tree, it’s a Christmas tree!

General thoughts:
Sadly, religious minorities have sometimes—though of course, not always-done better under secular nationalist dictatorships.  Tito’s dictatorship in Yugoslavia, for instance, kept Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Muslim Bosnians from slaughtering each other. 
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Similarly, despite all its horrors, the regime of the “Butcher of Baghdad” was less deadly to Chaldean Catholics in Iraq than the civil war that followed our deposition of the dictator.  And, indeed, Mubarak’s Egypt seems to have kept a better lid on attacks on Copts than the current (ostensibly) transitional regime of the generals.  In both cases, Democratic supporters of Obama’s support for the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, and Republican supporters of our invasion of Iraq, would argue that democratization is better in the long run for everyone including religious minorities, even if religious persecution can accompany the chaotic “mob rule” period that tends to afflict democratizing states. (This “mob rule” is the product of the “J curve” of democratization, in which a graph of regime stability starts with the dictatorship at the left end of the J, dips into mob chaos, and eventually gets to a more stable equilibrium at the other end of the J.  The J curve is an observed historical regularity, although hardly inevitable.)
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Thoughts on Obama specifically:
One perspective on his inaction is that he fears that associating the Copts with America would make them even more hated by the mob.  The Green Movement in Iran is known to have sought to avoid overt U.S. rhetorical support for precisely this reason.  For a lot of angry Middle Easterners, the U.S. telling them to stop something just makes them want to do it more.  We’re not very popular over there. 
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Lastly, @Mary Scott, Obama isn’t a Muslim.  He’s a member of the United Church of Christ, which is one of those ultra-liberal mainline denominations that thinks that the abortion industry’s slaughter of the innocents in this country is compatible with Christianity.  That’s awful enough—no need to pretend he’s Muslim if you want to complain about him.

This has been happening for a long time in the Middle East. Christian Churches bombed, Priests and lay Christians threatened and murdered. Now in the USA, we have Muslims complaining about being offended by Catholic symbols at a CATHOLIC COLLEGE!  There have been attempts to use Sharia Law in the USA. Obama seems to turn a blind eye to all of this, and one has to ask the question…..WHY? He says he is a Christian, but his actions sure do not support that statement. People need to wake up in the USA…..before it is changed forever!!

GHU - I concur with your outrage and agree that this person the American people have elected as president is a disgrace and horrible mistake.  I certainly did not and never could vote for him.  But don’t blame the CUA lawsuit on Muslims - it is the brainchild of a nit-wit and very American law professor who teaches at George Washington University.  He has received little or no support from Muslims or the Muslim community while Muslims who know what is going on at CUA support CUA.  I suspect this frivolous suit will be thrown out by even the ultra-liberal commission in DC that is “investigating” the matter.  The US Muslim community deserves plenty of blame for its passivity in the face of the atrocities that have been perpetrated in its name - but sadly, this idiotic suit is American-made.

Perhaps this is the “Change you can believe in.”

Nero fiddled.

I have a problem with the image of Obama’s “yawns”—it makes an assumption about Mr. Obama’s feelings. We have no idea what it going on inside Mr. Obama’s heart and mind. God alone knows. All we know is that we need to pray for our brothers and sisters in the church who are being persecuted throughout the world. (Just to let you know that we do pray for those who are being persecuted at our church.) We can also pray for Mr. Obama—that he be guided by God’s Holy Spirit and not by fallible human counselors.
Mr. Obama has shown that he is not all that concerned about offending Muslims, take note of the assassination of Bin Laden. If the governmental officials are not helpful perhaps they need more (and positive) encouragement to do so. The people of the church could learn a few things about lobbying from some of the environmental groups that enlist people on line for addressing the government with important issues ... implementing the language helps as well.  The persecution of people based on religion is considered a violation of human rights ...
Reading this blog I left wondering, do you want to achieve something or do you simply want to complain and shame someone?

Okay, Okay, Okay!! NOW, just who are the ones that put this dictator in office? American catholics!!  WHY? Because our lazy bishops were asleep at the wheel from being too casual with the politicians that called themselves catholic, starting with JFK and including Pope Ted Kennedy, Biden (although his Bishop did forbid him from receiving Jesus-now, of course this brave Bishop died from a sudden disease), Kerry & the list just goes on & on. Why aren’t the bishops just as concerned about their flock’s salvation as they were about making those useless changes in the Mass? How many “catholics” are in hell because of voting for politicians that are against our Church & how many more will join them this year and next?  When Obama put Biden as V.P., he knew what a idiot that he was, but, being a mature “catholic” (unlike Kerry), he would fool a lot of “catholics” into falling for his guile. Obama is NOT a Christian, Muslim or politician: he is a full-blown Hitler loving DICTATOR!! Follow the Muslim history and what will you find? Not love and peace, but murder, rape, hate & countries that are being taken over. We will soon be one of their victims, thanks to Obama & the American catholic church; as for me, I will stick with the Roman Catholic Church & will keep praying for our Bishops & Priests to be right with God & His Church.  +JMJ+

I have a question (from my point of view as an outsider): Does anyone know how much persecution of Christians was going on before the Iraq war was started? Could it be possible that since Mr. Bush Jr. has declared his war on the so-called “axis of evil” and stated a number of times that “God wanted him to do it”, that resentment might have built in the Muslim world, indiscriminately against all Christians, because they came to be perceived as complicit with Mr. Bush (claiming to speak as a Christian) painting a large part of the Muslim world as evil?

To Irenist:
i don’t agree with your assertion that Obama does not overtly support Christians in the Muslim nations because it would prompt the Islamist extremists to attack them more, Obama sent our troops,“support” troops as he says in Uganda to fight against the LRA (Lord’s Restistance Army) a Christian militia that has not in years attacked anyone in Uganda but is attacking in the Muslim countries surrounding Uganda.  Why would Obama send troops to “defend” Uganda when Uganda is not under attack now and is a mostly a Christian country…? Yet, Obama has not said a word or sent one troop in either Egypt, Sudan where Christians/Catholics are being slaughtered daily by the Muslims, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, in Libya why is he not also protecting Christians with our troops and other Muslim countries…???  If this does not show that Obama is a Muslim lover and is doing all to destroy the Christian faith, then i really think most people are blind. Since Obama has decided to listen to his Muslim advisor instead of his Christian advisor (does he have one…?) it clearly shows where his heart is and clearly shows he is promoting Islam here and abroad.

@Jan Jorgensen:  Great point.
@JMJ:  Obama may be a lousy president, but he’s not a dictator.  Same with Bush, Clinton, etc.  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, but not dictators.  As for Catholics “going to Hell” for voting for Obama: I don’t think that’s for us to say.  I agree with NCR’s columnist Jimmy Akin that, since the abortion issue must morally outweigh all others for U.S. Catholic voters, a vote for Obama is imprudent and not in line with the Magisterium.
@Rosa C.:  Thank you for your polite message.  I think you misunderstand the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).  As the conservative Republican magazine “National Review” has pointed out, they are Christian in name only. LRA leader Kony is up there with Cromwell as a slaughterer of Catholics, for one thing.  he killed 50 Catholic villagers in 2009, killing 17 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, and, according to the local Catholic bishop he *crucified* six more!
From the National Review article, “An Abomination in Africa”:
“In 2010, Congress passed a bill with bipartisan support calling on the president to take action against the LRA….
“[LRA leader] Kony is no “Christian missionary,” as some media insist on describing him. His rituals include elements of Christianity, Islam, and black magic. He boasts that he cuts off the lips. ears, noses and breasts of those who refuse to acknowledge him as a divine leader. He also amputates the feet of those who ride bicycles, and punishes those who eat white feathered chickens.
“He preys on civilian villages, which his army loots for provisions, and where they hack to death and shoot the adults, and abduct the children….Reportedly, more than 85 percent of LRA captives are children, most between the ages of 11 and 16. Young males are indoctrinated and trained for combat, and girls are used as sex slaves and beasts of burden for Kony and his commanders….
The deeply traumatized thousands of children who have escaped enslavement tell of witnessing, or even being forced to participate in, the clubbing to death of their mothers and fathers. Mothers who have been raped witness the bayoneting of their infants. The captives are forced to torture and kill other children caught trying to escape. Always on the move with the LRA leaders in the jungles and swamps of central Africa, they suffer repeated rape, beatings, and deprivation of every kind.
The LRA has reportedly caused as many as 200,000 deaths, most from disease and malnutrition but increasingly resulting from violent attacks on villagers. Human rights reports state that the LRA killed over 2,000 in the past year in such attacks. In the Haute Uele district of the DRC, 865 people were killed by the LRA from December 24, 2008 — when 50 Catholic villagers were killed at a Christmas Mass — to January 17, 2009.
The dynamic 46-year-old Catholic bishop Edward Hiiboro of Tambura-Yambio in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state, along the lush Central African and Congolese borders, told me that his 31,000 square mile diocese would be a veritable “garden of Eden” but for the raids of the LRA. In 2009, he said, a large LRA gang stormed into Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in the town of Ezo, abducting 17 teens and young people. Shortly afterwards, one of them, a young man, was found dead after being tied to a tree and mutilated.and 13 others remained missing a month later. A few days later, in the nearby town of Nzara, six people walking in a forest were ambushed and killed by being nailed to pieces of wood fastened to the ground, that is, crucified. Bishop Hiiboro organized a three day prayer vigil involving Christians of all denominations, in which 20,000 people walked two miles barefoot and in sackcloth and ashes in silent protest against the lack of protection provided them.”
(I can’t include the link without getting flagged as spam, just google the LRA for the article.)

@Marthe: NO! This is NOT backlash against the war in Iraq! I can tell from the “Bush Jr” comment that you’re not a fan. Anyone who blames Bush for Christian persecution does a disservice to those who have suffered at the hands of extremist Islam—stretching in a band from North Africa, all the way across the Middle East, and into the Philippines. I’ve been following human rights issues since the days when Amnesty International was not pro-abortion. Do yourself a favor and research the topic.

@Irenist: He may have been a member of the United Church of Christ, but he has also said that the Muslim call to prayer is “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.” Even ex-Catholics like Susan Sarandon cannot summon up that much affection for the religion of her parents!

Gregory John Mansour, bishop of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn (Maronite Catholic) penned the following letter to President Obama, when he refused to meet with Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai who is the Catholic leader of the Maronites worldwide.  This was during his recent visit to the Maronite Church in the US.

Dear Mr. President:

I am terribly disappointed with the rebuff of Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai who is the Catholic leader of the Maronites worldwide and one of the most respected Christian leaders in Lebanon and the Middle East.  The motto of his coat of arms reflects his personality and is call for “communion and love”. He has been trying to achieve what no other Middle Eastern political or a religious leader has been able to do: meet others with respect and love, not take sides, and build bridges to a future that will hopefully lead to peace and happiness for all people in the Middle East.

Muslim and Christian groups have all found in him a real father, a Patriarch. Because he has spoken out expressing his concern for the future of Christians in the Middle East, he has been rebuffed by you and your Administration. It is pure hypocrisy for the leader of the free world to refuse to meet with Patriarch Rai especially since the Prime Minister of Israel can come and completely disregard essential parts of a peace plan and still be given a warm welcome, and the King of Saudi Arabia, where Christians have no freedom whatsoever, can be received with highest honors. Mr. President, you are ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle East!

Patriarch Rai’s warning about the future of Christians in Syria is not taboo. Christians are in a state of peril in the same way that Christians of Iraq were a few years ago when two thirds of them migrated out of the country and are still not protected to this day. To say the Patriarch supports dictators and sides with terrorists is pure nonsense. With his own unique charisma, Patriarch Rai has reached out to all Lebanese with whom he has to live side-by-side. It is a beautiful outreach, one that is uniquely his, without having to be beholden to anyone. He speaks with love and tempers the divisive, hateful talk of many. He gives hope

A new day is dawning in the Middle East. The Arab Spring is happening with little vision for the summer that will ensue. Mr. President, you do not have to agree on everything with Patriarch Rai, but there is no need to avoid or rebuff him.  By doing so, you are showing your disrespect for him and for all Christians of the Middle East.

+ Gregory J Mansour
Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

This article makes no attempt to understand what lay behind this decision, nor does it give any kind of legitimate verification for its accusations. Clearly you have started with a pre-judgment (I hate Obama and everything he stands for) and found “evidence” to back it up. 

The more likely scenario is that state department officials noted recent statements made by the Patriarch about Syria that could be damaging to US policy in the region.  The fact is, the Maronite Church is a controversial body in the region on a number of different levels, including their sponsorship of terrorism in the Lebanese Civil War in the Shatila and Sabra camps.  This is not a politically neutral party.

I need to qualify that last post a bit.  This particular Patriarch is not linked to the atrocities of the Lebanese Civil War, nor should he be made to answer for them.  But the Maronites do represent a political force that makes statements the Patriarch makes loaded. One way, in fact, they could be interpreted is that he supported Sadaam Hussayn, as things were better for Christians during Hussayn’s rule than they are now.  The same could be said of Assad.  As a member of a religious minority himself (the Alawis) he and his father have been more open and supportive of Christians than it is feared would be the case if he was overthrown.  The question is - at a time when the administration has come out strongly in support of those rebelling against Assad’s rule, does it make sense to throw out the red carpet for a political/religious figure who has, in essence, said that Assad should be supported?  Not at all.  And this has nothing whatsoever to do with Obama’s Muslim adviser.  This is a state department matter.

Perhaps it would be better to simply post at the top of your blog “We hate Obama.”  That would make it clear to any who read it to know why you write the way you do.

Not only did President Bush welcome a visit from Rai’s predecessor, Cardinal Sfeir, he invited him to the White House, on several occasions, for a meeting with then Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice.  The Patriarch does not represent a political party; he speaks on behalf of christian/muslim relations in the Middle East and does so, from a catholic perspective.

There was no crisis in Syria when Bush was in office.  The crisis was in the White House with the war they started in Iraq.  The issue at this point is the statement he made about Syria which could be construed at this point as supporting a brutal regime.

Obama is trying to destroy the Christian Faith, namely Catholic Faith, here in the United States. Why would he lift a finger, or syllable, for Christians elsewhere?

On what basis do you make this statement - that “obama is trying to destroy the Christian faith?”  I see no evidence at all of this.  As for “helping Christians elsewhere” what president of either party has ever stepped into sectarian conflicts?  And what exactly do you expect him to do?  And how much power do you think he has?  This isn’t King Obama, this is president Obama who can only make policy decisions in concert with others who may or may not agree with him.

There is a whole lot of hate on this board.  Is that a part of what it means to be Catholic?  Fortunately I know it isn’t the case as I have met many Catholics (I am Protestant) who exemplify the spirit of Jesus Christ.  They apparently are not visiting this site.

John Hubers:  Are you seriously saying that you are unaware of Obama’s hostility to Christians?  Here is just the most recent example:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/28/veterans-allowed-to-rest-in-peace/

I read the article but didn’t actually see anything about Obama.  This was about an overzealous woman interpreting what our constitution says about the separation of church and state in a more literalistic way than some do.  But there is no evidence that Obama was involved with this decision at all. 

The issue here is how to interpret the wall of separation the constitution builds between church and state.  Interestingly, the early republic it was the conservative Baptists who were most adamant about building this wall, as they were a minority group trying to survive in a culture dominated by Congregationalists who felt that their Calvinism should be instituted as the only legitimate form of Christianity acknowledged by the American government.  It was Thomas Jefferson, however, who gave this its classic formulation (who, like Obama, was widely chastised and attacked by the religious right). Here the Obama administration stands in a long line of those who have worked to keep this wall strong.  Here’s what the wikipedia article says (which is mostly accurate):

“The modern concept of a wholly secular government is sometimes credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke, but the phrase “separation of church and state” in this context is generally traced to an 1 January 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, addressed to the Danbury, Connecticut, Baptist Association, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper. Echoing the language of the founder of the first Baptist church in America, Roger Williams—who had written in 1644 of “[A] hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world”— Jefferson wrote, “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State”.[1]

Let’s get back on track and not forget to pray for Catholics and fellow Christians around the world, and here in our U.S.  Our Pope meets with different religious leaders, of which Muslims are included…his goal, I believe, to extend the mercy of Jesus Christ to all earnestly seeking salvation.  I pray for Pres. Obama: PLEASE openly acknowledge and CONDEMN these horrific acts against Catholics in the international community and call for humane respect for PEOPLE of all faiths. This includes respecting our Catholic traditions here in the domestic U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, I pray for you also, that your outreach will help bring understanding and peace. Lord, please protect us Catholics around the world.  Amen.

The comments on this site are foolish, paranoid, and plain silly. We have serious problems in Christendom and your anti-Obama rhetoric is anti-christain AND anti-American. I will pray for you.  John

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