Originally published at National Catholic Register
Nov. 20 marks Red Wednesday, a growing effort to show solidarity with the suffering Church.
Started in 2016 by the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), this year more than 300 Red Wednesday events will be held in 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Ireland, Malta, the Philippines, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia.
In 2016, Pope Francis spoke about two types of persecution: “the explicit kind” — to which he related to the martyrs killed that Easter in Pakistan — “and the sort of persecution that is polite, disguised as culture, modernity, and progress, and which ends up taking away man’s freedom and even the right to conscientious objection.”
Red Wednesday in the Middle East
In the Middle East, there is no need to have a special day, week, or month to remember the persecution of the Church. While Red Wednesday is becoming better known there, it is not a tradition yet. But the issue is palpable on a daily basis, touching Middle Eastern Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants alike.
The persecution occurs in both countries that are bitter adversaries of the West and in
