Christianity is at risk of being “wiped out” in parts of the world due to intensifying persecution, the United Kingdom’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, David Smith, has warned. The British government is now targeting 10 countries as part of its revised foreign policy focus to defend this human right.
Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced a joint resolution condemning the persecution of Christians in countries where Muslims form the majority. The resolution urges the U.S. government to make religious freedom a central focus of its foreign policy and diplomatic efforts.
Police in Pakistan have delayed registering a complaint by a Catholic woman gang-raped by three Muslim men in front of her 3-year-old daughter and are pressuring her to withdraw the case, she said.
In what attorneys in Pakistan termed a “huge ray of hope,” a federal high court on Tuesday directed the government to form an inquiry commission within 30 days to investigate blatant abuse of blasphemy laws.
A religious rights group in Spain is calling on the president of the European Commission to create a Special Coordinator to combat hate crimes against Christians.
During an evening worship service on Monday, suspected Islamic extremists gunned down a Baptist pastor and another worshipper and kidnapped a woman in Katsina state, northwest Nigeria.
Events that occurred this week in Christian history include the death of Pope John III, the capture of Edmund Campion, and the election of the United Methodist Church’s first openly gay bishop.
The bombing at the Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, last month that killed over two dozen people is an indication that Syria's Islamist-led authorities under President Ahmad al‑Sharaa are enabling radicalism that threatens the existence of Syria's Christian community, experts warn.
A court on Tuesday acquitted two Christian youths of a false blasphemy charge rooted in a minor dispute, their lawyer said.
In one of the most difficult places on earth to openly practice the Christian faith, there are glimpses of hope.
