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.

California authorities identify final unknown victim of ‘Happy Face Killer’ Keith Jesperson after 34 years

New York Gov Hochul rejects Trump’s ‘Lake America’ renaming with blunt message

Maine meteorologist suffers giggle attack on live TV after prank backfires spectacularly

Defense Claims Lindsay Clancy ‘Never Did Anything Wrong in Her Life’ in Closing Argument

Report: Trump Admin Nearing ‘Massive’ Venezuelan Oil Deal

RNC threatens legal action against New Jersey officials over noncitizens on voter rolls: ‘On notice’

Social media erupts after cops reportedly raid home of Ilhan Omar’s son: ‘Not a good look’

Gov Shapiro sues Trump administration over ‘lifesaving reproductive care’ in escalating abortion battle

Watch: Hegseth Rights Another Biden Wrong – Upgrades Abbey Gate Heroes’ Awards After Previous Admin Wrongly Downgraded Them

Lutnick stumps for Trump’s Kennedy Center rebrand outside key court hearing

Restaurant Hands Dessert with Painful Birthday Message to Wheelchair-Bound Diner After Kitchen Staffer Misunderstands Instructions

US removes radioactive cancer-treatment material from Central American country over ‘dirty bomb’ risk

Embattled California Democrat to step aside as Dads Caucus chairman

White House silent on Iran-Oman Hormuz plan Tehran says would ban US warships

Socialist surge threatens Democrats in New Hampshire Senate race

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.