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 Senate hearing on DNI nominee is cancelled until US attorney replacement confirmed

Trump DNI pick braces for Senate grilling as temporary stand-in fuels Dem pressure

5 chilling details from the alleged White House attack plot tied to UFC event

Canadian tourism to US begins to rebound after 51st state, tariffs debacle

Netanyahu’s relationship with Trump becomes baggage in reelection campaign

Trump wins two, loses one: Georgia billionaire delivers rare blow to endorsement machine

Texas plane crash leaves one dead, more injured after business jet catches fire on highway

GOP Gov DeWine urges Ohio to abolish the death penalty, says it is no longer a deterrent

Dems pick potential successor to DC’s congressional delegate after decades-long incumbency

State of play: What to know about potential socialist showdown between Trump and DC mayor as votes pour in

DC Guard shooting suspect stares down death penalty in first court appearance

Trump’s endorsement fails to save MAGA candidate as billionaire advances in key governor race

FDNY deploys 140+ personnel to JFK after Delta flight reported with flat tires on approach to landing

Look: World Cup Fans Visiting for the First Time Fall in Love with America, Go Viral on Blessings We Take for Granted

Trump-backed ‘McCongressman’ wins Oklahoma Senate primary, vows push for stalled SAVE Act

See also Trump arrives for UFC fight

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.