Persecution of Christians around the world has worsened, says papal charity report

CNA Staff October 22, 2024 3:45 p.m.

Persecution of Christians around the world has only worsened from 2022 to 2024, with militant Islam, repressive regimes, criminal gangs and extremists intensifying attacks from 2022 to 2024, according to a papal charity that supports persecuted Christians.

An Oct. 22 report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) details the scale of violence and oppression facing Christian communities in 18 countries of “key concern.” The report, covering the period from August 2022 to June 2024, found that human rights violations against Christians have increased since the 2020-2022 report in more than 60% of countries surveyed.

A new report finds that six African countries studied have seen an increase in Islamist violence, leading the ACN to conclude that the epicenter of militant Islamist violence has “moved from the Middle East to Africa.”

According to ACN, in some African countries such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mozambique and other countries, Christians continue to be terrorized by extremist violence.

CNA has for years reported on violence against Christians in Nigeria, where thousands of Christians have been terrorized, displaced and killed in recent years, often by bandits operating with impunity under the largely Muslim-controlled federal government.

Ethnic and religious violence in Nigeria has killed nearly 56,000 people in the West African country over the past four years, with victims disproportionately Christian.

This month alone, a devastating Islamic terrorist attack in Burkina Faso killed at least 150 people in the eastern town of Manni. Over the months, Islamic insurgents have increased their brutality and determination to spread terror, allowing them to control about half the territory, ACN previously reported.

According to ACN, Burkina Faso has the highest levels of extremist violence in the entire Sahel region, as evidenced by attacks like those in Manni and Barsalogo in late August, where at least 400 people are estimated to have been killed by these Islamist militants forces. groups.

Turning to other parts of the world, ACN said it is seeing “increased persecution” of Christians as enemies of the state or local community by authoritarian regimes.

These include governments such as China, Eritrea, India and Iran, all of which have “intensified their crackdown.” Specifically, 720 attacks or other incidents of persecution of Christians were reported in India in 2023, up from 599 the previous year.

In addition, as the AKC reports, state and non-state actors are increasingly weaponizing existing and new legislation by criminalizing acts deemed disrespectful of the state religion as a means of oppressing Christians and other religious minority groups.

“Blasphemy laws,” which exist in dozens of countries around the world, are particularly damaging in Pakistan, while in Saudi Arabia, conversion from Islam to Christianity is strictly prohibited and converts may face the prospect of an “honor killing.”

Finally, the group highlighted the increased threats to Christian children, especially girls who have suffered from abduction, sexual abuse, forced marriage and forced conversion.

The report included numerous additional facts about the struggles Christians face around the world. For example, the Christian population in Syria, devastated by the ongoing civil war, has now fallen from 1.5 million to just 250,000 – a similar decline recorded in Iraq amid the brutality of the so-called Islamic State.

The full report is available on the ACN website.