The Catholic Parish of Holy Family
Persecuted Christians
Our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering in many parts of the world...
More Christians suffering for the faith
In the 2019 edition of Persecuted and Forgotten (A Catholic Charity report by Aid to the Church in Need), examinations were carried out relating to key developments in 12 countries of core concern for Christians suffering human rights abuses. It found that "Christians" emerge as the world’s “most widely targeted” faith group, slightly ahead of Islam. Another Open Doors report in January 2019 found that 245 million Christians were identified as showing extreme or very high levels of persecution. It outlined further that persecution takes many forms - Imprisonment, torture, loss of assets, rape and death.
World Watch List
The World Watch list is an annual ranking report conducted by Open Doors. the list monitors 50 of the worlds countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.
2983 Christians Killed in 2019
The report states that 2983 people were killed last year for faith related reasons.
Top Ten - Most dangerous countries for Christians
1. North korea
2. Afghanistan
3. Somalia
4. Libya
5. Pakistan
6. Eritrea
7. Sudan
8. Yemen
9. Iran
10. India
Pope Francis
"Reason recognises that religious freedom is a fundamental right of man, reflecting his highest dignity.” (Pope Francis, June 2014)