Persecution of Christians worldwide is getting worse, report warns
from Christian Today:
Christians who live in parts of the world that enjoy peace and religious freedom must speak up for the suffering Church in the face of increasing persecution, a new report by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) pleads.
‘Persecuted and Forgotten?’ examines the situation in 24 countries between October 2020 and September 2022, and concludes that in three-quarters of places the oppression or persecution of Christians grew worse during this period.
The countries are mostly located in Africa, the Middle East and Asia but the report finds that a factor in the worsening climate is a denial in the West that Christians are the most persecuted religious group.
The situation for Christians was found to be worse in all seven of the African countries reviewed by ACN, which cited the spread of Islamic extremism and “a sharp increase in genocidal violence from militant non-state actors, including jihadists”.
A particular country of concern is Nigeria, where ACN says the level of violence against Christians “clearly passes the threshold of genocide”.
“Jihadism is one reason why Nigeria teeters on the brink of becoming a failed state, with kidnappings, priests killed and deadly attacks on churches becoming increasingly regular,” the report says.
The report highlights the horrific murder this year of 25-year-old Christian woman, Deborah Samuel, who was stoned to death and then set alight after being accused of sending a blasphemous WhatsApp message.
The foreward to the report is written by Nigerian pastor, Fr Andrew Adeniyi Abayomi, who lost 40 parishioners when his church, St Francis Xavier’s in Owo, Ondo State, was attacked on Pentecost Sunday by unknown gunmen.
He fears that the persecuted Church is being forgotten.
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