Religion & Liberty Online

‘The French Sinatra’ championed persecuted Christians and private property

The beloved singer known as “The French Sinatra” died on Monday at the age of 94. “Charles Aznavour deserves to be remembered, not just a legendary artist, but as a great fighter for historical truth and freedom,” and property rights, writes Marcin Rzegocki at the Acton Institute’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website.

Marcin writes that Aznavour remembered Christians persecuted during the Armenian genocide, as well as modern victims of ISIS:

All of Europe has been grief-stricken over the death of one of the greatest French singers of the last century. … In his long career, Aznavour was a singer, composer, and actor. His hits included “She,” “La Bohème,” “Hier Encore,” and “La Mamma.” But this celebrated celebrity in the worlds of music and cinema may be less known for his involvement on behalf of victims of political and religious persecution, private property rights, and the world’s most vulnerable people.

In an age when celebrities abuse their fame in the manner of Harvey Weinstein, the transatlantic space needs more stories – and imitation – of the good deeds performed by Aznavour.

Read the whole story here.

(Photo credit: Wijjjilihgvv. CC BY-SA 4.0.)

Rev. Ben Johnson

Rev. Ben Johnson (@therightswriter) is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as Executive Editor of the Acton Institute (2016-2021), editing Religion & Liberty, the Powerblog, and its transatlantic website. He has extensively researched the Alt-Right. Previously, he worked for LifeSiteNews and FrontPageMag.com, where he wrote three books including Party of Defeat (with David Horowitz, 2008). His work has appeared at DailyWire.com, National Review, The American Spectator, The Guardian, Daily Caller, National Catholic Register, Spectator USA, FEE Online, RealClear Policy, The Blaze, The Stream, American Greatness, Aleteia, Providence Magazine, Charisma, Jewish World Review, Human Events, Intellectual Takeout, CatholicVote.org, Issues & Insights, The Conservative, Rare.us, and The American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. His views are his own.