The book, which highlights the persecution of Christians around the world in the 21st Century, was published April 14 by Word on Fire Publishing (WOFP). Bishop Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.

What Do Their Deaths Demand? provides an overview of the persecution of Christians today, along with Bishop Barron’s personal reflection on the meaning, causes and persistence of persecution.

“Just as Jesus was opposed, his Church has been opposed from the beginning,” the bishop writes. “This antagonism is a function of the very nature of Christianity.”

Aid to the Church in Need-USA assisted Bishop Barron in supplying key statistics, information, and testimonials highlighting persecution around the world. ACN also shared with the bishop its unique approach and methodology for identifying the drivers of persecution. The 70-page volume also provides suggestions on concrete actions American Catholics can take to support their persecuted brothers and sisters.

Bishop Barron clarifies that the reflections and perspectives expressed throughout this book “are uniquely my own.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote the foreword to the book, in which he says the book “comes at a crucial moment. It is a raw, necessary, and urgent testimony. I thank Bishop Barron for having so carefully and courageously gathered the voices of the martyrs of our time, giving them an echo that cannot and must not be ignored.”

Book proceeds donated

Cardinal Pizzaballa, who presides over the Church in the Holy Land at a time when war is affecting Christian communities in Lebanon and elsewhere, also endorses Bishop Barron’s call for prayer, charitable giving, and political action.

“Supporting organizations that help victims, such as Aid to the Church in Need, is not secondary,” Cardinal Pizzaballa insists. “We must also use democratic channels to defend religious freedom as a fundamental human right, especially wherever it is violated.”

Word on Fire will donate proceeds from the book directly to ACN to provide material and spiritual relief to persecuted Christians worldwide.

In the book’s introduction, Bishop Barron expresses his gratitude to ACN not only for help in research “but also for their indispensable work throughout the world.”

He says, “The research provided by ACN draws on information collected through its worldwide engagement and international activities in support of these communities.”

“We are called to stand in solidarity with the suffering Church and to give voice to those who cannot speak freely,” Bishop Barron said in a statement. “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.”