Christian persecution

A digital summit showed that the fight against all forms of religious persecution continues with a renewing cast of political leaders.

Christianity is disappearing from towns and cities in parts of the Middle East, warns a new report from the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need.

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Cardinal Louis Sako is concerned by rising tensions between the United States and Iran, fearful that his country, Iraq, could be caught in the middle of any potential conflict.

More than half of U.S. Catholics say they are very concerned about the persecution of Christians around the world, with this 58 percent figure up by 17 percent from a similar poll a year ago.

Jihadists allied with Turkey are hunting down religious minorities to kill them in Syria’s northwest, Christian activists warn, as Turkey and its allies have encircled the Kurdish-held town of Afrin and are relentlessly pushing through.

Four in 10 U.S. Catholics say that half or more of religiously based attacks around the world are directed at Christians and believe Christian persecution is “extremely severe” in North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.

Catholic and Protestant churches in Pakistan have started a movement to demand justice for Christian cousins accused of blasphemy, reported ucanews.com.

Rome’s Colosseum, long a symbol of the persecution of early Christians, was bathed in red light late Feb. 24 as a reminder of and a prayer for the thousands of Christians being persecuted for their faith today.