Bishop Robert Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (MN) and founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, today announced the release of his latest book, What Do Their Deaths Demand?: Christian Persecution Today. To mark the launch, Word on Fire is sending a complimentary copy of the book to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and every Catholic Bishop in the United States.
What Do Their Deaths Demand? chronicles the harrowing stories of men and women from Nigeria and Syria to China and North Korea who suffer harassment, imprisonment, and death for their faith. The book serves as a witness to the reality that religious freedom, among the most fundamental of human rights, is currently under sustained assault, with Christians remaining the most persecuted religious group in the world.
The book features a foreword by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was recently the subject of international headlines after being denied entry by Israeli authorities to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday. His contribution provides a firsthand perspective from the heart of the Holy Land on the fragility of religious liberty—he personally knew Father François Mourad, who was martyred in Syria.
“The global persecution of Christians is not a matter of distant statistics, but an unconscionable violation of human rights that transcends political divisions,” said Bishop Barron. “This is not a partisan or peripheral concern. It is a defining measure of any just society. Every person possesses an inviolable dignity, and with it the right to seek the truth and to worship God according to conscience.”
Reflecting this call for unity, the book has received formal endorsements from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. Bishop Barron, who serves on the President’s Religious Liberty Commission, offers the work as a resource to help awaken the public conscience and encourage solidarity with those who suffer for their faith.
Word on Fire, a non-profit ministry, is making the book available in bulk for a significantly reduced cost of $2 per copy. This initiative is designed to help parishes, schools, and churches form their members in advocacy and prayer. In a special partnership with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Word on Fire will also donate proceeds from the book directly to ACN to provide material and spiritual relief to persecuted Christians worldwide.
“We are called to stand in solidarity with the suffering Church and to give voice to those who cannot speak freely,” Bishop Barron said. “It is my hope that this book encourages concrete support for our brothers and sisters who face violence for the simple act of professing the name of Jesus.”
What Do Their Deaths Demand? is available today, April 14. For more information and to support the mission of the suffering Church, visit wof.org/persecution.