Christians, Christian culture attacked across Europe, world

On Christmas Day in the Year of Our Lord 1000 (or New Year's Day of 1001 AD, depending on which calendar you use) Stephen I (aka King Saint Stephen) established Hungary as a Christian Kingdom. On that day he was crowned king with a crown sent by Pope Sylvester II.

Over 1000 years later, the government of Hungary, unafraid to call the country "Christian", has warned that Christians are increasingly being persecuted around the world, and driven out of public life in Europe, more viciously than any people of any other faith.

So concerned are the Hungarians about the persecution -- even to the point of death -- of Christian minorities that they have created Hungary Helps, an assistance programme for persecuted Christians and other victims of humanitarian crises, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.

The aim of the programme is not to help Christian minorities migrate to the West -- a process which has seen the Christian populations of countries like Syria and Iraq collapse at an alarming rate -- but to help them where they are, in order to preserve their ancient communities and way of life for posterity. According to Hungary's ambassador to the Disunited Nations, Hungary Helps has so far spent $35 million supporting Christian communities, and helped 70,000 refugees to return to their ancestral homes.

According to a report on Breitbart News, Tristan Azbej, the Hungarian state secretary with particular responsibility for Hungary Helps, recently tweeted some examples of the ongoing attacks on Christians and Christianity. "There are places where it's illegal to display a Nativity scene and you can get fired for wishing 'Merry Christmas'", he wrote, "and this happens in the name of  'liberalism, inclusivity and freedom.'

"Some years ago, at the Brussels City Hall, it was decided not to set a Christmas tree, and in Santa Monica, California, a ban on nativity screening was made on the grounds of world neutrality," he wrote. "Meanwhile, in Germany, Christian songbooks have been burned, and in France, churches have been attacked every year, and Christian symbols and religious objects, such as crucifixes, have been damaged."

"Christianity is the most persecuted religion, with about a quarter of a billion Christians worldwide being persecuted or discriminated against, and thousands of people killed last year because of their Christian beliefs," the minister continued. But, he added, "The Hungarian Government stands with Christian values and communities. [We are] committed to the protection of Christian culture and strengthens it in the world by, inter alia, combating migration. [We] hope that over time, Europe will realize the importance of this."

Now there's a declaration we haven't heard lately -- if ever -- from any Western government. Sadly, we don't even hear it loud and clear from Pope Francis. Today, December 26th, if the feast day of the first Saint Stephen, the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity. Saint Stephen was a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings.

Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him, and was then stoned to death. Let us ask him to help all those who today are being discriminated against, persecuted and even martyred for their Christian Faith.