Devastating attack on church in France renews concerns over security in places of worship
(Solène Tadié. CNA).
The historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, was ravaged by arson on the night of Sept. 2, 2024.
Weekly we will include a selection of news about the lack of freedom of expression, conscientious objection and violence against Christians, although the most important ones will be included in separate news.
Nigeria’s Christians “still targeted on a daily basis”: Catholic Priest on Persecution
(Staff. ACI Africa).
The Director of Mission and Dialogue at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has expressed concern about persistent Christian persecution in the West African nation, where he says followers of Jesus Christ are targeted.
(Crux. Ngala Killian Chimtom).
Eritrea, located in Eastern Africa, ranked among the top ten countries in the world where following Jesus is an extremely dangerous enterprise. A July 3 report by the UK-based Release International which covers the persecuted Church worldwide, states that at least 218 Christians had been arrested in Eritrea within the past 12 months, many of them women and children. “This latest crackdown means that around 400 Christians are currently imprisoned – indefinitely, without trial or charge – because of their faith,” the report states. It says between January and May, 110 Christians were seized.
(CNA. Diego López Marina).
In the midst of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza, the patriarchs and leaders of ancient Christian churches in Jerusalem have signed a joint document in which they denounce that four Israeli municipalities have sought to levy municipal taxes on church properties in violation of “centuries” of historical agreements. The church leaders, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, and Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, accuse local authorities of launching a “coordinated attack” against the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
(First Thinks. Melisa Langsam Braunstein).
Growing up Jewish in 1980s New York, I started learning about the Holocaust in kindergarten. But along with those loaded lessons came constant reassurances from Jewish day school teachers and communal leaders that it would happen “never again.” With the help of the global community, it seemed Jews had finally triumphed over the repeated horrors of Jewish history. That was a comforting message for children. Now, though, it looks like wishful thinking. History will likely frame the early twenty-first century as a hinge moment. After the Holocaust, overt anti-Semitism was stigmatized by democratic societies worldwide. Jews were optimistic that this represented a permanent, positive change. However, October 7 and its aftermath have proven otherwise. For global Jewry, this means confronting ugly truths, like the durability of Jew-hatred. But reality is quickly shifting around our non-Jewish neighbors, too.
(AP News).
The prominent Belarusian human rights group Viasna on Tuesday denounced an extension to the detention of a Roman Catholic priest who was jailed after displaying the Ukrainian flag in a social media post. Andrzej Jukhniewicz was arrested in early May and charged with conducting an unauthorized picket for displaying the flag. Belarus is a close ally of Russia and although it has not sent troops into Ukraine, it has hosted Russian troops and missiles that have been deployed in Ukraine.
(The Remnant Newspaper. Angeline Tan).
In May this year, the Liberal Democrat party of Britain deselected David Campanale, a parliamentary candidate, due to his Anglican religion and anti-abortion views, in a move which critics have decried as a blatant breach of equality law. According to The Telegraph, whistleblowers complained about the Liberal Democrats to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on the grounds that the party has tolerated a “hostile environment” for people of faith, failed to probe grave accusations of discrimination and harassment and “emboldened those who believe Christians should be driven out of public life”. Following a two-year campaign against the Anglican politician by members of his local party and some LGBT+ activists, Campanale was scheduled to be replaced as a prospective MP candidate, as per The Telegraph in May. Moreover, the politician has been slammed for his links to the anti-abortion and anti-LGBT+ Christian People’s Alliance (CPA) political party, which he even subsequently criticized as having been “infiltrated by extremists.”
(La Luce di María. Emiliano Fumaneri).
È polemica a Diritto e rovescio, il talk show condotto da Paolo Del Debbio, per chi strumentalizza il Papa per giustificare azioni inammissibili come l’interruzione della Santa Messa per “difendere” l’ambiente. È ammissibile arrivare a interrompere la Santa Messa per difendere l’ambiente? E giustificarsi tirando per la giacchetta perfino papa Francesco? Il Papa può diventare un alibi per autoassolversi? La risposta è chiaramente no e basta fare uso della ragione per capirlo. In questi giorni sta circolando in rete e sui social un vecchio video di Diritto e rovescio, il talk show condotto da Paolo Del Debbio. La trasmissione mette a tema quanto accaduto a dicembre dello scorso anno a Torino, dove alcuni attivisti ambientalisti hanno interrotto la celebrazione della Messa in Duomo per leggere, prima dell’omelia del vescovo, alcuni passi dell’Esortazione “Laudate Deum” di Papa Francesco sulla crisi climatica. Se può essere lodevole la preoccupazione per le sorti della nostra casa comune, sicuramente meno lodevoli sono le modalità scelte per esprimerla. Opportunamente, nel video che circola su YouTube, due non credenti come Del Debbio e Giuseppe Cruciani provvedono a ricordare che non si può protestare per l’ambiente a colpi di azioni eversive.
(Religion News Service. Paul A. Djupe).
Some far-right Christian lawmakers have proposed that nonreligious Americans are not fit to govern because, without Christ, they are “evil.” Is it possible, given their relative lack of concern about such statements, that nonreligious Americans don’t know what Christian nationalism is? In fact, it may be expected. As the nonreligious population grows, and as people increasingly choose where they live based on religion and politics, this group has less exposure to conservative Christian politics. While many nonreligious Americans today are aware of the political stakes and players, substantial minorities are socially insulated from religious forces and their effect on political realities as we head toward the 2024 election. Mobilizing groups into politics can mean introducing terminology that helps people quickly make sense of the political world. Christian nationalism, a worldview seeking and legitimating Christian dominion in the U.S., is the crucial term here. While it may seem obvious that the nonreligious would have interests at stake were Christian nationalists to gain power, it actually comes as a surprise to a number of the nonreligious that they are combatants in a war for America.
(Catholic Herald. Crux Staff).
Thousands of Christians have returned to their homes in the historic Christian heartland of Iraq and are rebuilding their lives, including once again living out the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, after fleeing a decade ago from the ISIS takeover.
(The Catholic Herald).
Christians in Pakistan have demanded Punjab officials bring to justice the perpetrators of the brutal lynch mob murder of Nazir Gill Masih in Sargodha. In a report, the Catholic Church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) echoed a statement issued by the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference condemning the murder and the “persistent misuse of blasphemy laws”. The report stated: “swift and impartial justice must be served to restore faith in the legal system… and to hold police officials accountable for their inaction.” It demanded that “no false blasphemy charges be registered against any Christian and that protection be provided to them.” The report outlined the thorough fact-finding carried out by the NCJP into the events leading up to the spurious blasphemy accusation and attack against Mr Masih, and stated that his neighbours “allegedly had a grudge against Nazir’s family, who are relatively well-off, and his shoe business was doing quite well. “There was also a level of jealousy towards this Christian family.”
(The Catholic World Report. Georgena Habbaba).
The fall of Mosul, Iraq, to ISIS in 2014 wasn’t the beginning of the struggle for the city’s Christians. Killings, abductions, and threats from armed groups had plagued the community since the 2003 invasion by U.S. military. Clergy and laypeople alike bore the brunt of the violence, with bombings targeting churches as well. The situation reached a peak when security forces crumbled, failing to protect Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the heart of Nineveh province. ISIS seized control on June 10, 2014, plunging Mosul’s Christians into the darkest period of their recent history. Today, they grapple with rebuilding their lives while demanding accountability and a future built on equity and justice. In the wake of clashes and bombings between security forces and ISIS, Mosul’s residents were left to fend for themselves. Witness Nahed Abdul Ahad, interviewed by ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, described the complete absence of security forces. “Many families fled the city, particularly Christians,” Abdul Ahad said. “They feared the worst, especially after widespread reports of killings and torture by terrorists. Others clung to the hope that this was just a temporary security lapse.”
(L.M. Agenzia Fides).
“Viviamo una fase di nuovo slancio nel nostro apostolato” dice Juan Domingo-Beka Esono Ayang, Vescovo di Mongomo e Presidente della Conferenza Episcopale della Guinea Equatoriale, che ha concesso un’intervista all’Agenzia Fides.
(asianews).
L’espulsione da parte delle autorità governative di leader protestanti e pastori a capo di Chiese sulla base di rapporti dei servizi segreti “non costituisce una violazione della libertà di religione”. È quanto ha stabilito la Corte costituzionale con una decisione a maggioranza presa nei giorni scorsi e che riapre più di un interrogativo sulla pratica del culto. Nel mirino la comunità protestante, con oltre 170 comunità sparse sul territorio e che, da anni, segnalano criticità e abusi: richieste negate, permessi di soggiorno revocati e deportazioni a forza sono solo alcuni esempi. Ciononostante, per i giudici governo e amministrazioni hanno agito secondo giustizia e non vi sarebbe stata alcuna “violazione” nel vietare l’ingresso o la permanenza a leader religiosi che, in risposta, hanno promosso una protesta ricorrendo in tribunale.
Il direttorato per la Gestione dell’immigrazione ha applicato il codice restrittivo N-82 contro protestanti già residenti che comporta una “autorizzazione preventiva” all’ingresso. L’applicazione della norma è stata presa per motivi di ordine pubblico, sicurezza o salute, in linea con i rapporti dell’Organizzazione nazionale di intelligence (Mit) che descrivevano “attività missionarie”. Revocati i permessi di soggiorno, emessi ordini di deportazione contro alcuni e quanti sono andati all’estero per le vacanze non hanno potuto rientrare in Turchia. I funzionari religiosi hanno quindi portato la questione davanti alla magistratura ma già in primo e secondo grado non erano emersi estremi per rilevare violazioni e le decisioni erano “conformi alla legge e alla procedura”. Secondo i giudici all’ingresso era possibile richiedere un permesso speciale o un visto adatto allo scopo.
(UCAnews reporter).
Some 300 Christians marched on the legislature in Pakistan’s Punjab province at the weekend, joining global calls for the repeal of the country’s draconian blasphemy laws days after a specChristian lynching victim died in hospital.
During the protest on June 8 in Lahore, the provincial capital, the protesters condemned the government for failing to stop recurrent Muslim mob attacks based on false allegations of blasphemy.
The demonstrators placed lit candles on a table around a picture of Nazir Masih, the 74-year-old Christian who died on June 3 days after a Muslim mob attacked and injured him in Punjab’s Sargodha district.
(Redacción de CiberCuba).
“Personas que padecen las mismas carencias del pueblo se presten a frenar a aquellos que están teniendo el coraje de decir: ‘¡Basta ya!’, en nombre de todos”.
Alberto Reyes, sacerdote cubano de la diócesis de Camagüey y fuerte crítico del régimen, envió un mensaje a sus compatriotas que, no siendo policías ni militares, son convocados a deshacer las protestas populares y están autorizados a usar la violencia física contra la población.
En un texto compartido en Facebook, Reyes cuestiona a esas personas que padecen las mismas carencias del pueblo y se presten a frenar a quienes tienen el coraje de decir ¡Basta! en nombre de todos, solo porque se sienten importantes por unas horas.
El Padre Reyes llama a esos represores a darse cuenta de que tener el poder, aunque sea un poder ilusorio y momentáneo, les impide ver la realidad, y que no son más que peones, piezas de un juego que se decide a un nivel mucho más alto.
(Anugrah Kumar. CP).
In a controversial ruling, an Iraqi court has decreed that a Christian mother, Elvin Joseph, along with her three children, convert to Islam. The decision was based on the interpretation of Iraq’s Personal Status Law which mandates that children must adopt Islam if one of their parents converts.
Joseph, a resident of Duhok in the Kurdistan Region, found herself entangled in this legal predicament following the revelation of her mother’s conversion to Islam after her divorce and subsequent remarriage to a Muslim man
(Filipe d’Avillez and Amy Balog. ACN International).
The parish priest at St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church, Owo, where over 40 worshippers were murdered during Pentecost Sunday in 2022, told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that two years after the massacre, the suspects are in police custody but have not yet been brought before a court.
(UCANews. Aftab Alexander Mughal, OSV News).
After being severely beaten by a Muslim mob May 25 in Sargodha, about 150 miles south of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, a Christian man died on June 3 in a Rawalpindi hospital. Nazir Masih was 72.
June 3 videos from Sargodha showed Christians carrying Masih’s coffin through the street. They shouted “Praise to Jesus” and “Jesus is great.” The casket was draped in black cloth and bore a small crucifix, ABC News reported.
The Christian man died despite twice undergoing surgery and was buried in the city of Sargodha, in eastern Punjab province, amid tight security, said district police officer Assad Ijaz Malhi, according to ABC News.