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In 1995 the Puebla Institute came under the auspices of Freedom House and was renamed the Center for Religious Freedom. One of its first major undertakings was a January 1996 conference Shea organized. It brought in witnesses from around the world—leaders and pastors of the major Christian movements, churches, and denominations—to talk about what was happening in the Middle East, China, and elsewhere. This was the first such meeting of its kind. The conference produced a statement of conscience, published by the National Association of Evangelicals and endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention and mainline groups. It expressed "deep concern for the religious freedom of fellow believers, as well as people of every faith," and urged the U.S. government to "speak out against reigns of terror now being plotted and waged against Christians."

Shea then worked with and alongside congressional representatives, human-rights activists, and faith-based coalitions to pass legislation that would institutionalize the statement's principles. The result was the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

In her 1997 book, In the Lion's Den, Shea wrote, "The shocking, untold story of our time is that more Christians have died in this century simply for being Christians than in the first 19 centuries after the birth of Christ."

Shea has been advocating relentlessly for human rights for decades now, yet her passion is as palpable as ever—so much so that colleagues must edit some of her "stronger adjectives" from CRF reports. Her outspoken advocacy has provoked the ire of foreign and State Department officials alike. "She is so willing to speak out and tell the truth that sometimes the diplomats don't like it," McDonnell says.

During an address by Shea at Catholic University Law School, a member of the audience identified himself as a representative from the Sudan embassy; he also said he was from the state of Nuba, where the pro-government imams had issued a fatwa against insurgents. "Nina took him on," McDonnell recalls. "She basically said, 'You are from Nuba, and the government of Sudan has tried to totally wipe out your people! How dare you sell out your own people!'"

Asked where she finds her ongoing passion, as well as her strength during times of discouragement, Shea says, "As a Catholic, I find my strength at Mass and in sharing in the Eucharist with other believers, but another great source of strength is Daniel 6:22." It's a verse that inspired the title of her book. "I love that image of God sending his angel to close the mouths of the lions," she says.

Another favorite passage is the parable of the Good Samaritan. "Ravi Zacharias opened my eyes to another meaning of that story. The Jews who passed by the mugged person were on their way to pray in the temple. And they passed the victim by without helping him. Presumably, they were going to pray for him, but they weren't going to do anything themselves. It was the Samaritan who stopped and helped. I think what Jesus was saying—what Zacharias points out—is that action is also the moral imperative. The priests in that parable took the road of prayer alone, but the Samaritan who stopped extended the love of Christ.

"It means we need to do those things that help others, out of love for Christ. We are called to act." The parable, Shea says, "is a moral imperative to act."

Sheryl Henderson Blunt is senior news writer for Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

See also today's sidebar, "Subverting Dignity: Nina Shea on the greatest threat to human freedom today."

Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom has more information on the organization and its work.

Brief biographical sketches on Shea are available from National Review (alt.), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom.

Shea's In the Lion's Den: Persecuted Christians and What the Western Church Can Do About It is available at Amazon.com and other book retailers.

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September 2005, Vol. 49, No. 9