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 says polls ‘don’t account for one thing,’ as he pledges to defeat communists ‘once and for all’

Iran could move shadow war in a dangerous direction, experts warn on back of two possible terror attacks

Abdul el Sayed has stabilized his Michigan Senate campaign. Can the Democrat hold the gains?

Ukraine Annihilates 3,000 Enemy Troops by Dropping Killer Robots Behind Russian Lines, Makes World History

GOP AGs Target Wall Street Big 3 for Punishing Companies with Bad Credit for Refusing to Comply with Woke ESG

As Yemen’s civil war enters a new phase, what’s next for the embattled country?

California K-9 Otis helps police seize 440 pounds of cocaine during Alhambra traffic stop

Shooting near Baltimore youth football event leaves 12-year-old girl dead, 3 adults wounded

Trump touts ‘golden age’ at Ohio rally, urges voters to deliver GOP midterm wins

Cornell president says university ‘must do better’ on handling of sexual assault allegations

South Carolina mom couldn’t remember last time she fed 2 daughters before they were found dead: affidavit

Another One: College Prof, Ex-Dem Candidate Arrested After His DNA Found in 15-Year-Old’s Rape Kit, Cops Say

Education Dept. Goes Viral with Takedown of ‘Fake News’ Story on Loan Cuts: No More Handouts for Failing Degrees

Even Healthcare Workers Are Dropping Health Coverage as Obamacare Premiums Hit New Heights

Trump drops Republican Senator’s phone number in social post over fury on stalled bill

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.