An Urgent Call: Declare the Genocide of Christians and Other Minorities
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill noted in their historic joint declaration that:
“…entire families, villages and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated.”
Extensive and irrefutable evidence supports a finding that the treatment of Iraqi and Syrian Christians, as well as Yazidis and other vulnerable minorities, by the self-proclaimed Islamic State meets the established definition of genocide.
Evidence of Genocide
This evidence includes:
- Assassinations of church leaders.
- Mass murders and deportations.
- Torture.
- Kidnapping for ransom.
- Sexual slavery and systematic rape of women and girls.
- Forced conversions to Islam.
- The destruction of Christian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and artifacts.
Public statements by ISIS take “credit” for the murder of Christians precisely because they are Christians and express their intent to completely eradicate Christian and other minority communities from their “Islamic State.”
A Call to Action
We implore you to speak on behalf of these brutalized minority populations. Therefore, we urge you to declare that Christians, Yazidis, and other ethnic and religious minorities are victims of ongoing genocide.
Sign the petition sponsored by the Knights of Columbus at: