ICC Note: International scholars, government officials and leaders of non-governmental organizations met to discuss the long-simmering tensions of Christians in the Middle East. The conference at Vilannova Univeristy focused on the grim reality face by Christians in the Middle East. In the wake of current political, social and economic circumstances of many Arab countries, Christians are at risk of extinction from their ancient homelands.

12/11/2016 Middle East (Catholic Philly): Consensus about the Middle East and its long-simmering tensions might seem hard to come by, but a dozen international scholars, government officials and leaders of non-governmental organizations found a few points of agreement during a meeting this week at Villanova University.

The ancient Christian community in the Middle East is in danger of extinction, along with other religious minorities. The violent conflicts and social unrest in many countries of the region have been inflamed by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The prospects for peace and stability are bleak in the short term, and likely will not be resolved significantly for a generation at least.

That was the grim picture painted for 160 participants of the Dec. 5-6 international conference examining the plight of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East in the context of the current political, social and security struggles of the region.

Organized by Augustinian Father Kail Ellis of the university, the conference drew top diplomats, scholars from Lebanon and the United States, and policy advisers, along with leaders of NGOs such as the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a Vatican-approved agency based in New York.

Father Ellis read aloud a letter by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, who sounded an optimistic note on prospects for religious minorities in a letter commending the conference. (Read the letter here.)

An official with the U.S. State Department, Knox Thames, said in his keynote address to open the conference that protecting religious freedom was “not only important because it’s a human right but because it also gives rise to about peace, security and development. It is instrumentally important in forging a better world.”

He was followed by speakers who acknowledged the rich cultural and intellectual contributions to society by Christians in the region from the time of the early church up to the present.

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