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.

Senate GOP rams through blueprint to bankroll ICE, Border Patrol through end of Trump era

Karen Bass meets with Trump at White House to push for LA wildfire relief after months of clashes

Man who pleaded guilty to raping 12-year-old relative is illegal immigrant from Honduras, DHS says

Manhattan DA’s office employee charged with sexual abuse after alleged incident on Queens subway

Florida prisoner laughs as judge sentences him to life for killing cellmate with pen: ‘You are amusing’

Florida man’s execution date set for killing 2, including small child

Senate GOP launches all-night vote-a-rama to fund ICE, Border Patrol through end of Trump’s term

Ilhan Omar Rages at Reporter Who Confronted Her About Financial Disclosure: ‘You’re Stupid’

Five things to know about Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner

Judge Slams the Brakes on Democrats’ Virginia Redistricting, Rules Every Vote ‘Ineffective’

Video exposes disrepair lurking beneath Trump Kennedy Center as $257M renovation looms

‘Come On!’: Maury Povich Dismantles Joy Reid’s Absurd Claim That Dems Don’t ‘Play Politics’

Obama’s Shameless Hypocrisy Exposed as He Celebrates Democrats’ Virginia Power Grab

You Don’t Distrust Legacy Media Enough: Major Paper Shrugs at SPLC Paying Extremists – ‘FBI Does It Too’

Navy Secretary Fired ‘Effective Immediately’

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.