MISSION / Church in Libya: Amid persecution offering ‘silent testimony’ of worship, charity

Amid persecution, Church in Libya offers 'silent testimony' of worship, charity

CWN - March 26, 2013

Bishop Sylvester Carmel Magro, the Maltese Franciscan who serves as apostolic vicar of Benghazi, has told Aid to the Church in Need that the Church in Libya is maintaining its "silent testimony" of worship and charity amid increasing persecution.
"Notwithstanding the difficulties that may crop up every now and then, we strive to continue with our silent testimony of worship, of faith, of trust, of confidence and growth in the Word of God," Bishop Magro said.
"He was very stoic, very humble about the whole thing," John Newton of Aid to the Church in Need told Vatican Radio. "There was this sense of him just trusting in God."
"It was very humbling to hear that, in the midst of all these troubles, there was this sense of calm and trust in God that seems to be just carrying them through," Newton added.
97% of Libya's 5.6 million people are Muslim; because of foreign workers, nearly 2% of Libya's residents are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics.

Additional sources for this story
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• Libyan Christians prepare for Holy Week amid persecution (Vatican Radio)
• Attacks and arrests in Libya (Aid to the Church in Need)
• New attack on Coptic church in Benghazi (CWN, 3/15)
• Libya: priest escapes gunman, Copts subjected to intimidation campaign (CWN, 3/8)