by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Over 400 million Christians live in countries that persecute churches, ACS-Italia, the Italian chapter of Aid to the Church in Need, has assessed. The data also shows persecution of believers around the world is worsening, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
In an interview with Vatican News, Alessandro Monteduro, director of ACS-Italia, said around 416 million Christians live in “lands of persecution,” CP reports. “I want to clarify that ‘living in lands of persecution' does not mean ‘persecuted,’ but living in a land of persecution, however,
exposes you daily to risks that may arise due to the behavior of the persecutors,” Monteduro said.
Monteduro also told Vatican News that Christians are especially suffering in parts of the world where Islamic extremists have embedded themselves and are progressing murderous campaigns against believers. “Across Africa, from sub-Saharan Africa to East Africa, there are at least a couple of dozen terrorist organizations that have the ambition, from their point of view, to install caliphates in their territories,” Monteduro said.
Monteduro specifically mentioned the increased deadly persecution against Christians in India, Myanmar and Pakistan, Niger, Chad, Mali, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Monteduro also referenced Burkina Faso, which until 2015 was known for peaceful coexistence between diverse communities: “60% of the country is no longer reachable in order to help the populations on a humanitarian level,” he said.
While the plight of believers around the world is well documented, it has been met with “too much indifference” from the international community, Monteduro said. There is no adequate “uproar” about the tragic violence and suffering being perpetrated against Christians, Monteduro attested.