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.

Why Lula’s reelection in Brazil is ‘not gonna make democratizing Cuba any easier’

Dead felon voting controversy grows as ‘Betty No Last Name’ surfaces in Spanberger’s rights restoration push

Bombshell: Ex-Wife Levels New Rape, Incest Accusations at Hugh Hefner, the Man Who Mainstreamed Pornography

Trump’s attacks on Abdul el Sayed could backfire with the Arab Americans who backed Republicans in 2024

Libertarians challenge Trump-backed Republicans, look to shake up midterms beyond GOP-Dem duopoly

OpenAI Sued for Wrongful Death After ChatGPT Allegedly Convinced Woman to Change Medication

Obama admin first launched the investigation into Ilhan Omar’s alleged brother marriage

Ex-chief says Christa Pike was ‘almost giddy’ describing murder as governor weighs in after botched execution

Maine, Kansas Senate races neck and neck as Democrats lead in Texas, Michigan, poll shows

Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer denies she’ll testify about homicidal thoughts in ex’s suit against her doctors

What comes next for Mary Peltola as her campaign faces decoy investigation

AG Todd Blanche Calls a Spade a Spade on Alaska Dems: ‘They Are Cheating’

Alaska Governor Orders Investigation Into Alleged Dem Ballot Plot to Trick and Confuse GOP Voters

Israeli top election official orders Shin Bet to investigate allegations of foreign interference with Arab vote

Bolsonaro declares himself ‘leader’ of Brazil after fleeing country, arriving in Miami

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.