Over 100 million Christians persecuted, Caritas says

30 luglio 2015

2 min di lettura

(AGI) Vatican, July 30 - The latest dossier by the charityCaritas Italiana estimates that more than 100 millionChristians around the world have been persecuted. Entitled"Perseguitati" (Persecuted), the dossier has been published inthe daily newspaper of the Vatican City State, L' OsservatoreRomano. The charity estimates that more than 100 millionChristians, along with other minorities, have beendiscriminated against, persecuted and experienced violence atthe hands of totalitarian regimes and followers of otherreligions. In North Korea alone, there are between 50,000 and70,000 Christians in detention camps, according to the dossier.In some African and Middle Eastern countries, the violence ismore obvious, and the charity calculates that 4,300 Christianswere killed for religious reasons between Nov. 2013 and Oct.31, 2014, while 1,062 churches came under attack. L'Osservatorecomments that this kind of violence is also perpetrated againstmany other religious and ethnic minorities, revealing aworrisome rise in intolerance not isolated solely to the MiddleEast, the scene of fighting and aggression by Islamic State(IS) militants. The paper summarises the dossier, which alsostates the fact that religious wars are started for precisepolitical and hegemonic ends, and calls for differences to belaid aside in order to strive for peace. Branches of Caritas inthe Middle East have been increasingly successful in workingtowards an active collaboration between Muslims and Christians.The declared aim of Caritas is to shed light on the causes ofthe persecution of Christians in the world, taking into accountthe economic, cultural and geopolitical variables of each ofthe countries involved, while giving voice to the silenttestimony of the many Christians who continue to practice theirfaith despite risking their lives. In July 2014, IS militantsstormed Mosul, triggering an exodus that led to more than amillion people taking refuge in the Iraqi region of Kurdistan.These Christians, Yazidi and other minorities found shelter inErbil, Dohuk and Zakho. The situation has got progressivelyworse, as cyclical waves of refugees continue to make for thesame part of Kurdistan. (AGI). .