Religious Persecution: 100 Million Brothers and Sisters Suffer for Their Faith in Christ






"When the Saints go marching in, I want to be one of them..." - Sara Groves













Stories of Christian Persecution | I Have Decided to Follow Jesus - No turning back...








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"God is alive... He is with us forever..." (Daughter of Asia Bibi).
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Hate is a learned behavior and so is the act of disengagement. - Barbara Coloroso





Did you know over 100,000,000 brothers and sisters in Christ suffer persecution for their faith?  That is to say, people who believe in our Lord, and live out their lives faithful Christ's teachings "suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith" - Open Doors USA



"Lord, I have a heavy burden...
But your Word is shut up like a fire burning in my bones...
calling for freedom..." - Sara Groves



Persecution




"There are more martyrs today than in the first early centuries of the church." - Pope Francis





Did you know in 2010 then Pope Benedict XVI had something to say about religious persecution? - FoxNews.com

According to Vatican News, "Holy Father Benedict XVI...stressed that in many Countries Christians are deprived of fundamental rights and sidelined from public life; in other countries they endure violent attacks against churches and their homes. At times they are forced to leave the countries they have helped to build because of persistent tensions and policies which frequently relegate them to being second-class spectators of national life." Vatican News 

Did you know as a faithful follower of Jesus, you can do something to help?
  1. Stay informed.  See Catholic News Agency for more information.
  2. Get involved.  See Aid to the Church in Need or Where God Weeps for some suggestions.
  3. Let others in your parish know, and begin to dialogue and allow the Holy Spirit to move each of you to employ your collective skills, talents and prayer to aid others in need.






"Every man and every woman should be free to confess their religion of choice..." - Pope Francis

A persecuted Church ‘The 21st century has already seen in its first 13 years 1 million people killed around the world because of their belief in Jesus Christ.’ - Editorial Board OSV Newsweekly

"The Catholic Church embraces with hope the commitment to ecumenism as a duty of the Christian conscience enlightened by faith and guided by love, Jesus himself..." Quotes From Church Teaching On Ecumenism And Interfaith Dialogue

"It is necessary that all participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good.  This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person." - Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 913



Persecution of Christians (Catholic TV)

Resources

Advocacy



Articles / Reports


  • Father Gerald Murray on the Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI - "[T]he pope is very intent that all believers in God come to a common understanding of how we defend the basic right to religious freedom in the modern world, the right of believers to be able to practice their faith in the public square without coercion; also very sensitive to the right of people to be able to change their religion without suffering penalties of the civil law."



Lethal Attacks on Those Who Live for Christ

Podcasts

Videos


A New Defender Of Religious Freedom In Europe


Websites
  • Church in Need - As an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need’s mission is to help suffering and persecuted faithful worldwide.
  • Hudson Institute: Center for Religious Freedom - The Center for Religious Freedom promotes religious freedom as a component of U.S. foreign policy by working with a worldwide network of religious freedom experts to provide defenses against religious persecution and oppression.
  • Movement for the Abolition of War
  • Odyssey Network - "Stories of Faith in Action.  Stories Changing the World.  Odyssey Networks, founded in 1987, is the nation's largest multi-faith coalition dedicated to producing and distributing media that fosters understanding among people of different beliefs and perspectives and that enriches spiritual life."
  • Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
  • Persecution.org - International Christian Concern: ICC acts as a bridge between believers in free countries and believers in persecuted countries. This bridge carries encouragement, prayers and aid in while news, requests, and love flow back over the bridge. 
  • The Woolf Institute - The Woolf Institute is a global leader in addressing one of the most pressing and rewarding challenges of our time: the current and historical relationships that exist between the faith-traditions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, with special reference to Europe and the Middle East.
  • Vatican Radio - The voice of the Pope and the Church in dialogue with the world!
  • United States Commission International Religious Freedom
  • Where God Weeps - Where God Weeps is a weekly TV & Radio show produced by Catholic Radio & Television Network with the support of the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
  • World Watch List - The World Watch List (WWL) is a ranking of 50 countries where persecution of Christians for religious reasons is worst.




This is your Catholic moment... CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization


Published 03.02.2013
Updated 10.22.2014; 01.21.2015; 01.29.2015