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UNITED KINGDOM: Ann Widdecombe to speak at Westminster Event
By John Pontifex
Ann Widdecombe will outline her concerns for persecuted and other suffering Christians at the event on Saturday, 22 October
Ann Widdecombe – former Government minister, Catholic convert, novelist and television personality – is set to be the keynote speaker at Aid to the Church in Need's Westminster Event on Saturday, 22 October.
Miss Widdecombe, who has been named Aid to the Church in Need’s special envoy on religious freedom, will outline her concerns for persecuted and other suffering Christians at the event, which follows a special Mass in Westminster Cathedral.
The one-time Home Office minister, who became a Catholic in 1993, will lead a line-up of speakers including Monsignor Robert Stern, who has stepped down after 25 years at the helm of US-based charity Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA).
Mgr Stern is an acknowledged expert on Christianity in the Middle East with strong links with the Holy See.
Titled ‘The Middle East – A Spring or Autumn for Christians?’, the conference will also include talks by Aid to the Church in Need's UK director Neville Kyrke-Smith on the Holy Land and Lebanon and the charity’s UK head of press and information John Pontifex, who will report back on a visit to the Church in Egypt.
In a change to the usual format, the programme will allow more time for discussion and audience participation.
The focus on the Middle East comes after Aid to the Church’s Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their faith, released in March, revealed growing concerns about the long-term survival of the Church in the region.
The report coincided with fresh reports showing that 75 percent of religious persecution is directed against Christians.
The Persecuted and Forgotten? report quotes Pope Benedict XVI who in his Message for World Peace Day 2011 stated: “Christians are the religious group who suffer the most persecution. Many Christians experience daily affronts and often live in fear. This is unacceptable…”
Miss Widdecombe’s address is expected to focus on how Christian emigration from parts of the Middle East and elsewhere has been prompted by a rise in intolerance against the Church, with bomb attacks on churches, kidnapping (especially of Christian girls) and discrimination in the workplace and in the courts.
The former Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Health Secretary is expected to call for more action to address the issue.
Miss Widdecombe, whose many television appearances have won fame and notoriety, especially her popular success in last year’s BBC production Strictly Come Dancing, is noted for her skills as a public speaker and her no-nonsense approach to life.
Miss Widdecombe said: “I have become increasingly alarmed by reports of violence and acts of intimidation against Christians.”
“We in this country are rightly concerned to protect the rights of minorities over here. We cannot therefore turn a blind eye to the plight of minorities in other parts of the world. In many cases, those suffering most are Christians.”
“It is time to put our heads above the parapet and speak up in the name of Christians suffering for their faith and I am delighted to support the work of Aid to the Church in Need which is doing excellent work to help persecuted Christians.”
Find out more about the Westminster Event, including tickets