Obama bemoans 'unspeakable violence' against Mideast Christians

US President Barack Obama lamented the “unspeakable violence and persecution” that has driven Christians from their “ancient homelands.”

In a statement released Dec. 23, Obama said, “In some areas of the Middle East where church bells have rung for centuries on Christmas Day, this year they will be silent; this silence bears tragic witness to the brutal atrocities committed against these communities by ISIL [Islamic State].”

In Mosul, where Christmas had been celebrated during two millennia, there were no celebrations for the second year in a row, under the rule of IS.

Pope Francis, who has termed the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and beyond a genocide, said in a speech earlier this year observing the beatification of the Syriac Bishop Flavien-Michel Malke, "There are more martyrs [today] than there were in the first centuries,” as a result of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East today.