European Parliament: Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world
I’ve underlined the most significant facts relating to Christian persecution in this article and I think you’ll agree that it certainly puts things in perspective for us.
It is most encouraging to see the European Parliament tackling this.
Religious freedom must be incorporated into the European External Policies of the EU, by adding to Agreements with Third Countries a binding clause on the respect of freedom of religion. This is the main demand of a Written Declaration presented today by Mario Mauro MEP (EPP Group) and Konrad Szymanski MEP (ECR Group). The initiative was launched today on the occasion of a conference on ‘Persecution of Christians’, which was organised by the two Groups and COMECE (Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in the EU).
Violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief take place all over the world and it affects an estimated 100 million Christians every year. According to Open Doors International, in 2010, the top ten list of countries where Christians are most persecuted because of their faith consists of North-Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen, Mauritania, Laos, and Uzbekistan.
The conference gave the floor to major witnesses of Christian persecution over the world: Mgr Eduard Hiiboro Kussala, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura, Yambio in South Sudan, Mgr Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Iraq, Dr T.M. Joseph, Principal of the Newman College in Thodupuzha, India and Kok Ksor, President of the Montagnard Foundation (Vietnam).
Konrad Szymanski MEP (ECR Group) recalled that: “75% of deaths linked to religion-based hate crimes affect people of the Christian faith, which makes Christians the most persecuted religious group in the world. Europe cannot remain indifferent. The EU must take co-responsibility for protecting religious freedom all over the world. Today, the mass suffering of Christians is still a crime that remains forgotten. We are here to remind the politicians of their responsibilities in this matter.”
Mario Mauro MEP (EPP Group) stressed that: “Religious freedom is the condition through which all our other freedoms pass: freedom to express and profess the religion in which we believe means to escape the abuse of power. This is the reason why we need to insist on the defence of this principle and this is also why we initiated the Written Declaration in the defence of freedom of religion“.
Tags: Christian Persecution, Politics
October 17th, 2010 at 8:31 am
In a weird turn of events I actually suffer from discrimination occasionally. My theological qualification stops me getting shortlisted for jobs with some charities because staff in the voluntary sector are more likely to be anti religious. At the same time I get discriminated against by Christian organisations e.g. the Church of Scotland won’t employ anyone who is not a Christian (and is legally allowed to do so, they won a case taken by a Jewish cleaner recently who was told they couldn’t be employed because they were a jew, although I can’t find a trace of this online).
October 17th, 2010 at 9:34 am
I think you should should give up fighting it and become a Christian, the signs are everywhere
Nice and gently does it……
October 17th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Call it for what it is, ethnic cleansing bleeding into genocide being executed predominantly by member states of the organisation of the islamic conference (OIC).