Christian Persecution 2019 a Scourge of ‘Mammoth Proportions’

June 2019 is an “especially menacing time” for Christians both on the domestic and international fronts, writes Christian persecution expert John L. Allen in a report Sunday.

The U.S. Catholic Church is facing “one of the most serious potential violations of religious freedom in its history in the form of SB 360 in California,” writes Allen, author of the 2013 bestseller The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution, since the bill would compel priests to reveal information learned while hearing confessions as evidence against possible sex offenders.

“The bill passed the California senate in late May by a 30-2 vote and is expected to be considered by the State Assembly in September,” Allen notes.

On the international scene, “the scope of anti-Christian hostility is staggering,” Allen continues, with the number of Christians facing “harassment, physical assault, arrest and imprisonment, torture, and even death” on a daily basis estimated at around 200 million.

Trump admin debuts ‘Fentanyl Free America’ plan as DEA touts impact of Caribbean boat strikes

Bipartisan deal on Obamacare subsidies fades as Republicans push HSA plan

Man charged with attacking NYU student has 16 prior arrests

California Christian college student founds pro-life club after school rejects Students for Life chapter

Patriots Star Calls Attention to Persecuted Christians with Special Cleats: ‘Will You Stand with Them?’

Let’s Roll, Mr. President: ICE Surging Into New Target and the Somalis Are Scared

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to special election results for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District

DOJ busts ‘Greggy’s Cult’ child exploitation network that allegedly coerced kids into self-harm

Late Breaking: Trump-Endorsed Van Epps Defeats Anti-Police Democrat in TN House Race

Texas Tech restricts teaching of race and gender, faculty could be disciplined for violating rule

DOJ sues six states for refusing to turn over voter registration rolls, warns ‘open defiance’ of federal law

DOJ weighing possible new indictments for Comey and James: Reports

Trump-backed Republican keeps crucial congressional seat in GOP hands with special election victory

NYC alleged dine-and-dash influencer Pei Chung evicted from luxury apartment as she sits in jail

Illegal immigrant gang member killed police K-9 ‘Spike’ before officers returned fire in California: source

Christians in North Korea, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and a host of other countries live under a constant threat of active persecution, as documented by Open Doors, a Christian persecution watchdog group.

Even in Latin America, the world’s largest “Catholic” region, the number of Catholic clergy and personnel killed each year frequently tops the list of continents.

While the defense of religious freedom should apply equally to all creeds, Allen asserts, anti-Christian persecution deserves particular focus “given the wall of silence that still too often surrounds the subject.”

“Just as one didn’t have to be Jewish to sympathize with the plight of dissident Jews in the Soviet Union, and didn’t have to be black to be outraged by apartheid in South Africa, similarly today one shouldn’t have to be Christian to recognize anti-Christian persecution as a human rights scourge of mammoth proportions,” Allen writes.

Saturday marked the beginning of the U.S. bishops’ yearly “Religious Freedom Week,” which runs this year from June 22-29.