Rome Coliseum To Be Illuminated In Red To Represent Christian Persecution

Coliseum in Rome to be lit up in red February 24th, to draw attention to Islamic persecution of Christians around the world

The Roman Colosseum along with two churches in Mosul and Aleppo will be lit up by red lights later this month to draw attention to the global persecution of Christians.

“Christians are the victims of at least 75 percent of all religiously-motivated violence and oppression,” declared the latest report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the group organizing the event, and moreover “the extent of this persecution is largely ignored by our media.”

In a gesture meant to combat global indifference to the plight of persecuted Christians, on Saturday, Feb. 24, one of Rome’s most iconic structures—the Colosseum—will be illuminated in red, representing Christians who have shed their blood for the faith.

In the 13 countries where Christians suffer the most intense persecution, the situation has worsened in all but one—Saudi Arabia—in the last two years, and conditions there have stayed the same.

“In almost all the countries reviewed,” the report reads, “the oppression and violence against Christians have increased since 2015 – a development especially significant given the rate of decline in the immediate run-up to the reporting period.”

The group has also complained of culpable inaction on the part of western countries that have shown little effective support for persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

“The one exception is Saudi Arabia, where the situation was already so bad it could scarcely get any worse,” the report said.