I don’t really have words for this…

 I and His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorius III

I have now spent two full days in Malta attending the ACN International Religious Freedom Conference. I have met people from all over the world all of whom share the desire to offer whatever they have—time, talents, money—to make the world a more tolerant and peaceful place. The conference opened with High Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta; the Cathedral is stunning and the array of clerics was truly impressive. Back at the conference centre the plenary address was given by His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorius III of Damascus, the head of the Melkite Church. He spoke very eloquently and rather optimistically about the current situation for Christians in Syria. He made the point that there is indeed religious freedom in Syria, but currently that freedom is endangered due to the volatile political situation in which, as is the case with so many countries in the region, is intricately bound up with religious issues. To date 91 Syrian churches have been seriously damaged or destroyed in the conflict; His Beatitude feels that the time is fast approaching to implement a systematic programme of rebuilding. Though the situation is far from resolved and there remains ever-present danger for Christians within Syria, His Beatitude brought a fledgling sense of hope and an unexpected optimism to the proceedings.

I and Sister Hanan in Malta

Yesterday ended with a reception at the conference centre. We welcomed the President of Malta who spoke with great conviction about the valuable work of ACN and the warm welcome that she felt sure the Maltese people would extend to the newly opened Malta office. It was a wonderful occasion—beautiful weather and an interesting mix of people. I spent some time in conversation with Sister Hanan Youssef, a Good Shepherd Sister who works in Lebanon. Sister Hanan’s kindness and deep humility were immediately apparent, but it was not until the following day that I really appreciated the impact and importance of her work with Christian refugees in Lebanon.

Today the conference really came into its own with three very different, but equally moving talks. First we heard from Bishop Kyrillos William of Assiut, a Coptic Bishop of Egypt. His talk was entitled ‘The Reality of the Arab Spring in Egypt—Revolution Revisited?’. Bishop Kyrillos is a modest and very humble person. Small in stature, he is extremely approachable and friendly. He told us about the increasingly difficult situation for Egypt’s Christian population and how divisive the current political situation is proving for interfaith relations within Egypt. He finished by saying that the Church in Egypt is indeed suffering, but that he is happy to be a Bishop in a suffering Church. His churches are full. Something to think about there…

Next up was my new friend Sister Hanan. A native of Syria who was herself forced to flee her country, she works with Syrians and Iraqis who have sought refuge in Lebanon—the most Christian country in the region. Though most of the refugees—and she estimates them to be over 150 thousand at this point—are Christians, some are not and she and her fellow sisters offer whatever they can to all regardless of faith or race. She runs a medical clinic, a school, a counselling service, food banks and so much more. So many Lebanese Christians have now themselves emigrated that the government is no longer particularly supportive of Christians and she is forced to make do with minimal help from the state. Organizations like ACN provide a vital lifeline for those whom Sister Hanan works tirelessly to help. She shared a number of very moving stories and anecdotes, offering a truly personal witness to the situation on the ground for the refugees. Scottish Lorraine and I are in the planning stages of an ACN programme to take into primary schools; we were sitting together as Sister Hanan was speaking and all it took was a quick glance at each other for us to realise that we had found our focus. After the talk we quickly spoke to Neville Kyrke-Smith, the UK National Director, and he went straight to the Main Office contingent (from KÓ§nigstein in Germany) and negotiated a project with Sister Hanan for ACN UK. When we were able to give Sister Hanan a big hug and tell her how we were going to try and help her, she was so surprised and moved that Lorraine and I just knew that we had to make our new project work. We are filled with ideas and will meet up to discuss everything later this month. Needless to say, I am SOOOOO excited about this!

The final talk was by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos in Nigeria. His talk was entitled ‘Dialogue and danger on the front line of faith,’ and it was truly inspiring to hear about his attempts to work with local leaders from other faiths. His firm belief that dialogue and shared experience is the only way forward shone through every word of his lecture. With the recent kidnapping of so many Christian teenage girls by Boko Haram fresh in our minds, we all felt the frustration and bafflement that the Archbishop expressed when he spoke of the lack of action by the Nigerian government.

The conference finished up with several short personal witnesses about missionary work and a closing address by Baron Johannes von Heereman, the Executive President of ACN International. I don’t think anyone who watched and listened over the past two days could fail to have been moved by what we learned. If only it were so easy to get the word out to everyone!

More on the rest of the week in a few days…

Thanks for reading! Caroline