Persecution of Christians
In 18 of the 24 countries surveyed by the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, persecution of Christians has risen in the past two years. This is a key finding of its 2020-2 ‘Persecuted and Forgotten?’ report.
The report highlighted the violence against Christians in Africa with over 7,600 Nigerian Christians murdered from January 2021 to June 2022. The worst situation in Asia was in North Korea. India saw 710 incidents of anti-Christian violence from January 2021 to June 2022, driven in part by political extremism. The report found that in the Middle East a migration crisis threatened the survival of some of the world’s oldest Christian communities.
‘Arise and go’
In his Angelus address last Sunday, Pope Francis said:
“To arise and to go – not to stay still thinking about ourselves, wasting our lives and chasing after comforts or the latest fads, but to aim for the heights, get on the move, leaving behind our own fears to take someone in need by the hand. And today, we need young people who are truly ‘transgressives’, non-conformists not slaves to their mobile phones, but who change the world like Mary, bearing Jesus to others, taking care of others, building fraternal communities with others, making dreams of peace come true.”
‘Fight bribery, corruption’
Ghana’s bishops appealed to the country’s political leaders and people to become a model in fighting the “bribery and corruption” that plagues their continent. They said “Ghana must lead the crusade against corruption. Let us eschew attitudes, behaviours and actions that support, encourage and condone bribery and corruption. They said the president should “show commitment in fighting corruption by making use of the security and intelligence community to investigate allegations of corruption, prosecute and recover stolen funds”.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)