Report Details Gruesome Extermination of Mideast Christians

Knights of Columbus, in defense of Christians, submit evidence to State Department

It is time for the United States to “join the rest of the world” in recognizing that Christians are undergoing a genocide in the Middle East.

So says a report submitted to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday, urging him to make a declaration that the Islamic State group is carrying out a genocide of Christians.

The European Parliament, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the governments of Iraq and the Kurdish Autonomous Region have all labeled ISIS’ actions against Christians genocide, said the report, which was co-authored by the Knights of Columbus and In Defense of Christians. So have Hillary Clinton and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The nearly 300-page document, “Genocide against Christians in the Middle East,” resulted from a State Department request for specific evidence related to crimes committed against Christians by ISIS.

“We are asking that Christians be included in finding of genocide and that a recommendation be made for investigation and, in proper cases, for indictment of those responsible,” the groups says.

Their report documents the murder, injury, enslavement and displacement that Christians have suffered at the hands of the jihadist group.

The report includes a brief laying out the legal basis for a declaration of genocide and details evidence proving that ISIS has the intent of committing genocide. It presents what the groups claim is previously unreported evidence, gathered from a fact-finding mission to Iraq last month.

Read the full article on Aleteia website