Source: Congressman Frank Wolf
UPDATED MEDIA ADVISORY
AMERICAN CHRISTIAN LEADERS “PLEDGE” TO STAND IN SOLIDARITY
WITH IMPERILED CHRISTIAN AND OTHER RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN EGYPT, SYRIA AND IRAQ
Press Conference
11 a.m.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
234 Cannon House Office Building
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), co-chairs of the bipartisan Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus, will host a press conference at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7 on Capitol Hill featuring several prominent American Christian leaders who will be releasing a Pledge of Solidarity & Call to Action on behalf of Christians and other religious communities in Egypt, Iraq and Syria who are increasingly threatened in the lands they have inhabited for centuries.
The Pledge, which is signed by roughly 150 American Christian leaders from across ecumenical lines (Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox), representing a variety of sectors including thought leaders, clergy, authors, seminary and university presidents and parachurch heads among others, is a galvanizing call to action in response to the crisis facing these ancient faith communities.
The Pledge, in part, says: “Now facing an existential threat to their presence in the lands where Christianity has its roots, the Churches in the Middle East fear they have been largely ignored by their coreligionists in the West… American religious leaders need to pray and speak with greater urgency about this human rights crisis.”
Among the foreign policy recommendations contained in the Pledge is the appointment of a high-level Special Envoy on Middle East Religious Minorities. Wolf and Eshoo sponsored legislation to this effect which overwhelmingly passed the House last year and is presently languishing in the Senate.
In addition to the Caucus co-chairs, other speakers include (in alphabetical order):
Dr. Leith Anderson, president, National Association of Evangelicals
Archbishop Oshagan Cholayan, Armenian Apostolic Church of America
Dr. Jerry Johnson, president and CEO, National Religious Broadcasters
Jim Liske, president and CEO, Prison Fellowship Ministries
George J. Marlin, chairman of the Board, Aid to the Church in Need-USA
His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Johnnie Moore, senior vice president, Liberty University
Dr. Russell D. Moore, president, Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, professor of Conflict Resolution, Bedford, MA
Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad (Statement will be read by Joseph Kassab, founder and president, Iraqi Christians Advocacy and Empowerment Institute)
Nina Shea, director and senior scholar, Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom
Rev. Canon Dr. Andrew White, chaplain, St George Anglican Church, Baghdad
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington