By 2:1, Majority of Canadians Believe Christians Face Genocide at Hands of ISIS

TORONTO, Aug. 4, 2016 /CNW/ -- A new Leger poll finds that a majority of Canadians believe Christians and other religious minorities face genocide in the Middle East at the hands of ISIS.

By more than two to one, Canadians agree that "the targeting by ISIS of Christians and other religious minorities is genocide." A majority (51 percent) agree, while only 23 percent disagree.

The polling was released at a news conference in Toronto that included top Christian leaders from the Middle East.

Among those who spoke out about the plight of Christians in the region was the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church, Ignatius Joseph III Younan.

In a major speech to the convention Tuesday, he noted: "Our Churches go back to the first Christian communities, in their liturgy, traditions, culture and language. They are now a kind of endangered species, that could be wiped out for good!"

He added: "This present Genocide is happening under the eyes of the whole world and the global indifference is stunning!"

Also speaking at the news conference were Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo, Syria – a city currently besieged and bombarded as ISIS battles for its control, and Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, whose city has become ground zero for Christian refugees in that country.

All urged action to assist the refugees.

The survey of 1533 Canadians was completed online using Leger's online panel and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percent. It was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus. More information is available at www.christiansatrisk.org

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395817

SOURCE Knights of Columbus

Joseph Cullen, 1-203-8004923, [email protected], http://www.kofc.org