Persecuted Christians, forgotten Christians

Every year, there is an analysis of the report on persecuted Christians around the world. In addition to the fact that the danger and violence are increasing more and more, the oblivion in which they find themselves is also greater. The attack against the Saint Francis Xavier parish in Owo, Nigeria, which occurred on June 5 of this year, left at least forty dead and dozens seriously injured. It was perpetrated for the Pentecost party, in order to cause as much damage as possible, due to the number of faithful who crowded inside the temple. One of the biggest catastrophes this year that has not had enough impact to give voice to all the victims.

“The world is silent as attacks on churches, their representatives and their institutions have become routine. How many more corpses are required for the world to pay attention?”, said the Bishop of the diocese where the attack occurred, Msgr. Jude Arogundade.

“The world has turned its back on Nigeria. A genocide takes place there, but nobody cares. The security personnel and the police did not come to our rescue, despite the fact that the attack lasted at least twenty minutes,” laments Father Abayomi in the prologue to Persecuted and Forgotten? It is not only a matter that happens in Nigeria but in the rest of the world. Both Korea and the Middle East are also areas where Christians are ignored and their daily suffering is not recognized. Families that have had to leave their homes and are totally unprotected.

This study, carried out by the Pontifical Foundation for Aid to the Suffering Church (ACN), highlights the serious threats facing Christians, not only in Nigeria. In much of Africa, Christians are murdered, their churches attacked and their villages razed to the ground. In Pakistan, they are wrongfully detained on trumped-up charges of blasphemy. In North Korea, the faithful are repressed by a totalitarian government that watches their every move. And, as this report shows, the list of abuses does not end there.