Not too sure if the word “phobia” is suitable in this instance, as no one fears cheek-turning Christians — at least not the way bomb-laden or sword-waving Muslims tend to instill fear. “Anti-Christianism” or perhaps even “Misochristianism” may better capture the feeling here. “Vatican warns of growing ‘Christianophobia,'” by Philip Pullella for Reuters, August 29:
ROME (Reuters) – “Christianophobia” is a growing problem around the world and it must be fought with the same determination as anti-Semitism or Islamophobia, the Vatican said on Friday.[…]
Mamberti said 21 Catholic missionaries were killed in the world in 2007 and lamented that the Christian population of Iraq was now down to about 500,000 from about one million before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Last month, Pope Benedict told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that minority Christians in Iraq needed more protection.
From who and why, pray tell?
The Archbishop of Mosul of Iraq’s largest Christian denomination, the Chaldean Catholics, was kidnapped in February and found dead two weeks later.
The Vatican has often expressed concern that conflicts in the Middle East are greatly diminishing the Christian population in the areas of the religion’s birth.
The Near East, which was pivotal to the development of Christianity (many of the “giants” of Christian theology hailed from Alexandria, Antioch, not to mention Constantinople, i.e., Istanbul) has, since the 7th century and nearly 1,400 years of jihadi terror and dhimmitude, been steadily “expunged” of any trace of its Christian heritage. Suppose that’s what the Vatican means by “conflicts in the Middle East”? Anyway, if Muslims and jihad are not behind the disappearance of Middle Eastern Christianity, who or what is? Secular, dictatorial governments? Obviously not: Iraq’s Christian population disappeared by half after — not during — the reign of Saddam; they disappeared by half after Iraq’s various Muslim groups were given “democracy,” that is, after the will of the (Muslim) majority both officially and unofficially became supreme.