AsiaNews reports in Rosary prayer for Christians persecuted in Asia
In the case of China, the prayer focused on Fr Francis Gao Jianli, who was badly beaten after he was summoned by his town’s mayor to discuss a plot of land taken from the Church; on 16 nuns in Xian who tried to stop the demolition of a school (in November 2005); and on 50 priests and nuns in Tianjin (in December 2005) who demanded the return of land confiscated from Xiangong parish during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) where a now an abandoned factory was built.
In the case of Iraq, the prayer mentioned Mgr Paulo Faraj Rahho, Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, who was murdered a year ago. They quoted from a message by Mgr Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk, who lamented the “martyrdom of the bishop of Mosul” and the “long list of Christian martyrs in Iraq;” all 710 men, women and children, including 21 in Kirkuk, martyrs like altar boy Fadi, sisters Margaret and Fadhila, and a deacon, colonel W. Boraji.
With regards to Vietnam the prayer mentioned the smear campaign by state media currently underway against Hanoi Catholics. Participants said that more attacks are expected since demands for justice by Thai Ha parishioners were met with complaints before the courts on public nuisance charges which have already led to the victims being condemned last December for “damages to public property and disorderly conduct” when in fact all they did was to gather for prayer vigils in which they asked for justice and the restitution of seized Church property.
As for Sri Lanka, those who took part in the prayer referred to a national day of fasting organised by local bishops on 3 April against a dangerous anti-conversion bill, promoted by Buddhist monks. Calling for “divine intervention” to bring “harmony through reconciliation”, they prayed that the country may be spared an inter-confessional confrontation that could result from the proposal currently before parliament.
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