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.

Bob Brooks wins Pennsylvania’s 7th District primary to take on Ryan Mackenzie in general election

Bob Harvie wins Pennsylvania’s 1st District primary to set showdown with Brian Fitzpatrick

Trump ally Tommy Tuberville cruises to Alabama GOP governor nomination

Kentucky physician advances to general election after receiving glowing Trump endorsement: ‘True friend’

Stelson-Perry rematch set in Pennsylvania’s 10th District

Gallup Poll: Americans Would Rather Live Near a Nuclear Power Plant Than an AI Data Center

Breaking: Thomas Massie Loses to Trump-Backed Ed Gallrein in Hotly Contested Primary

Trump admin readies Raul Castro indictment as fatal shootdown case resurfaces: sources

Oklahoma Newspaper Pulls Jewish Writer’s Op-Ed Praising OKC Thunder and Israel for Thriving Against Bigger Rivals

Dems score win as GOP senator helps advance Iran war powers resolution

John Cornyn Issues Defiant Response After Losing Out on Trump’s Endorsement

Spanberger vetoes marijuana market bill

Woman dies after plunging into uncovered manhole outside luxury stores

Vance invites Rubio comparisons with briefing room jokes but both stand in Trump’s shadow

WATCH: CENTCOM chief unloads after Dem asks ‘how many more Americans’ must die in Iran war

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.