To sensitize the public to the often-ignored fact that 200 million Christians all over the globe are being persecuted today, on the evening of 29 April 2016 Trevi Fountain, a famous Roman landmark and tourist mecca, was bathed in red light, symbolic of the blood of the martyrs, and scenes of martyrdom around the world were projected onto it. The initiative, organized by the Pontifical Association Aid to the Church in Need, was promoted in memory of all the people being massacred today because of their faith. From Iraq to Syria, from Nigeria to Pakistan, the daily news reports episodes of discrimination and violence. High-profile witnesses took part in the Trevi event, including Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo, a city that has become the symbol of the drama being lived by Syrian Christians. Bishop Audo asked Rome and everyone in the western world to open their eyes to the horror that the Syrian people have been living for the past five years: 300,000 Christians have been killed, 7 million Syrians have been forced to leave their homes, 5 million have sought refuge in bordering countries, 2 million children are not able to attend school….
He also reminded everyone of Fr. Andrea Santoro, an Italian priest who was assassinated in Turkey in 2006; of Shahbaz Bhatti, the first and only Catholic to serve in the Pakistani Parliament; of the four Missionaries of Charity who were murdered in Yemen this past March, and the 148 students of Garissa University who were killed last year in Kenya.