Archbishop and Professor Thomas Paul Schirrmacher is the President of both the International Council of the International Society for Human Rights in Frankfurt and the International Institute for Religious Freedom in Costa Rica and Bonn. He was Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance from 2021 to 2024. Prior to this, he served the WEA for 25 years in various roles, including Associate Secretary General for Theological Concerns and Intrafaith and Interfaith Relations. He travels to over 50 countries a year, meeting heads of state and government, religious leaders, and heads of churches of all confessions on behalf of the persecuted church, as well as fighting human trafficking and corruption.
Christian, Islamic, and secular/atheistic perspectives and politics have shaped recent world history more than any other international movement. All three have produced widespread forms of antisemitism that have repeatedly intermingled, threatening the human rights of Jewish people. It is important that Christians understand the roots of antisemitism and resist it as an evil and an affront to God.
Archbishop and Professor Thomas Paul Schirrmacher, a leading Evangelical theology scholar, religious liberty advocate, and a senior Evangelical in relationship with several popes, provides us with his perspective on Pope Leo XIV after the pope's 100 days in office and Shirrmacher's most recent visit with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
It should make us stand up and take notice when those most eager to see a Palestinian state recognized in their own back yard are anti Hamas, whereas in Europe and the UK Hamas seems to be part of the package. When it comes to understanding both sides of a conflict, even one as lopsided as this, unrealistic ideologies will not create stability. The Arab states know this. They deserve our respect.
Thomas Schirrmacher has worked with Pope Francis in a variety of official roles, both for the World Evangelical Alliance and the International Society for Human Rights. He accompanied the pope on three state visits and also visited him privately at Santa Marta on numerous occasions, often around the pontiff’s birthday. These are his reflections.
Separating anti-semitism against Jews from criticism of Israel's state is not so clear cut in the current global climate. Regardless of opinion on Israel's response, we should take care not to attack Jews. In this commentary, Archbishop Thomas Schirrmacher affirms Israel's right to self defense and warns against antisemitic tendencies. Attacks against Christians could be next.
