Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - The Center for the Studies of Global Christianity in the United States estimates that about 100,000 Christians die every year because of their religious beliefs, that is to say one every five minutes. In addition, in many Countries, many other religious minorities suffer violence and persecution. Just to name a few, in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia and Egypt, the Christian elderly, women, men and their children live in conditions of total insecurity. They are driven from their homes; put in prison for blasphemy, and brutally killed during liturgical celebrations, churches are burned. Girls are kidnapped and forced to marry. Among the various initiatives in favor of freedom of religion and worship, the Spanish Foundation CitizenGo, created to promote respect in all contexts of human dignity and the rights that flow from it, and the International Foundation Novae Terrae have promoted a petition for the protection of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East and in other parts of the world where the phenomenon is constant. So far more than 200 thousand people have signed. The two foundations urge European leaders and other continents to engage in favor of freedom of religion and worship, against any kind of persecution. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 23/10/2014)
