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.

Pentagon confirms Fort Hood terrorist’s firing squad execution will be livestreamed: ‘Details will follow’

Dem who ripped rival’s donor-fueled ‘good life’ dropped campaign cash on Disney, spouse travel

NFL Legend Tony Dungy Says His Christian Faith Played a Role in His Firing from NBC: ‘They Knew Who I Was’

Roseanne Barr Roars Back from Cancellation by Secretly Filming Star-Studded Sitcom

Trump calls Democrat he pardoned a ‘loser’ for not switching parties

FIRST ON FOX: FBI targets Ghana scam compound linked to nearly $10M in losses, more than 130 detained

El-Sayed’s scathing Obama critique resurfaces ahead of joint campaign rally

Marine Corps Osprey catches fire during exercise in North Carolina; 4 injured

Rubio criticizes media for demanding comment on Guilfoyle report: ‘It’s not the gospel’

‘Demon,’ ‘Bigot,’ ‘Satan Spawn’: Duchess Meghan’s Fans Rabidly Attack Priest for Offering up $8 Version of Her $150 Advent Calendar

‘Cornell 7’ Figure Fights Back Against ‘Improper’ Appointment of Letitia James with Court Move

Ken Paxton touts ‘missing Talarico’ flyers across Texas

‘Annie Trannie Andrews’ and ‘Mohammed el Sayed’: Trump goes scorched-earth on Democrats. Will it backfire?

Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia Flores face new charge of conspiracy to torture Americans

Dem House hopeful alleges she was brutally attacked during 2 am campaign errand

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.