Written by: Željko Ivković

Translation: Ksenija Ninić

On that occasion, the Sarajevo Cathedral of the Heart of Jesus was “painted” red from 5:00 pm to midnight. The Eucharist at 18:00 was led by the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, cardinal Vinko Puljić together with the Archbishop Coadjutor of Vrhbosna Msgr. Tomo Vukšić. About 15 priests concelebrated, among whom was the Vicar General of the VN, Msgr. Slađan Ćosić.

Welcoming those present, the cardinal said at the beginning that he “presents the Holy Mass for all persecuted Christians in the world in order to remain brave and persevering, but also for the conversion of persecutors”. Explaining that on the same day was the feast of the Vietnamese martyrs St. Andrew Dung Lac and his friends, wished “that God encourages us in all our temptations”.

Great persecutions yesterday and today

In his sermon, Archbishop Vinko first spoke about the life of St. Andrew Dung Lac and fellow martyrs during the persecution of Christianity in Vietnam which lasted at least from 1625 to 1886 and took about 130 000 lives. Speaking about today’s sufferings of Christians in Asia and Africa, he pointed out that a person gets chills listening to these horrors, but also expressed regret that in the West these crimes are denied and ignored. He then recalled a 1994 conversation with a European politician who said “we have killed Catholics in the Netherlands and across Europe, and only Poland, Italy and Croatia remain”. Following this, he stressed that there is a strategy for the destruction of religion despite the fact that freedom of religion is a human right.

“It is on this occasion that the Kirche in Not organization launched the ‘Red Wednesday’ campaign. It actually focuses on all persecuted Christians. Public buildings and churches around the world are ‘painted’ in red”, the cardinal said, and added the liturgical importance of red, especially on Good Friday. He further spoke about the etymology of the word martyr and mentioned the first martyr St. Stephen and reminded of the example of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

“When we talk about martyrs, we usually think of history all the way to Rome and the great persecutions”, the archbishop of Vrhbosna said, adding that persecution continues today. He recalled the words of Pope Francis, who said that “the beginning of the third millennium has more martyrs than the entire third century during the great persecutions in the Roman Empire”.

Saying that being a Christian today is very dangerous because there is discrimination, persecution and killing, he said that in as many as 60 countries around the world, freedom of religion is not guaranteed, which affects two thirds of the human population. Concluding, he pointed out that violations of religious freedoms affect members of all religions, but Christians in particular are vulnerable because they belong to a “global church group”, but as such do not have their advocates.

At the end of the Eucharist, a prayerful adoration was held before the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. The liturgical celebration was animated by the singing of this year’s deacons, and the Holy Mass was broadcasted live by Radio Marija BiH

The latest statistics on the persecution of Christians

By the way, the Pontifical Foundation Kirche in Not, for years has been trying to draw attention to Christians who suffer because of their faith through various activities around the world on last Wednesday in November.

According to the OpenDoors organization, during 2020, the number of persecuted Christians in the world increased to more than 340 million. This means that one in eight Christians has encountered some form of persecution. The most difficult situation is in: North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, India, Iraq and Syria.

You can read about all this regularly in the section Križnim putem kršćana danas (The Way of the Cross of Christians Today).

Kosača joins “red Wednesday”

In the evening of November 24^th, the Croatian Home Herceg Stjepan Kosača joined the global action of the Catholic international humanitarian organization Kirche in Not, and the facade of this building in Mostar was ‘painted’ red as well.

“We have decided to support this global initiative and thus give support to all Christians in the world who are exposed to persecution”, said the Kosača director Danijel Vidović.