(Photo: Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)Displaced Iraqi Christians who fled from Islamic State militants in Mosul, pray at a school acting as a refugee camp in Erbil, Iraq, September 6, 2014.
ishtartv.com - prnewswire.com
Mar
14, 2017
A
year after U.S. genocide declaration, K of C continues its support for those
targeted by ISIS
NEW
HAVEN, Conn., March 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A year after the U.S. Congress and
State Department declared that ISIS was committing genocide against Christians
and other religious minorities, the Knights of Columbus is continuing its
humanitarian support for persecuted Christian communities in the region by
contributing nearly $2 million in new assistance.
Knights
of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson announced the organization's $1.9 million in new
assistance, noting: "A year ago, our country declared with one voice that
genocide was occurring to Christians and other religious minority communities,
but words are not enough." He added: "Those targeted for genocide
continue to need our assistance, especially since many have received no funding
from the U.S. government or from the United Nations. The new administration
should rectify the policies it found in place, and stop the de facto discrimination
that is continuing to endanger these communities targeted by ISIS for
genocide."
The
Knights of Columbus donation includes support for:
Medical
clinics in Iraq
Easter
food baskets for displaced Christians under the care of the Archdiocese of
Erbil
General
relief for the Christians of Aleppo, Syria, via the city's Melkite Archdiocese
Support
for the Christian refugee relief programs of the Syriac Catholic patriarch
The
K of C has raised more than $12 million for Christian refugee relief since
2014.
The
Knights also spearheaded the campaign that led to last year's March 17 genocide
declaration by the State Department. As part of the effort, the organization
and its partners prepared a nearly 300-page report on the genocide being
carried out against Christians by ISIS and other extremist groups. The State
Department's declaration was only the second instance in which the U.S.
government declared an ongoing situation to be genocide.
Anderson
has said 2017 may be "the decisive year in determining whether many
Christian communities throughout the Middle East will continue to exist,"
and has called for aid from the U.S. government and the international
community. He has also urged prayer for "those who are being persecuted
and killed for their faith," and announced that the K of C will lead a
Novena of Grace and Solidarity that will be prayed by the Knights and others
for nine straight days from March 12 to 20.
Donations
to support Christian refugees can be made at www.christiansatrisk.org
and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Knights of
Columbus Charities, Inc. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a
charitable organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, and
100 percent of all donations will be used to assist Christians and other
religious minorities, primarily from Iraq and Syria.
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