No kidding - the few Christians left in the Middle East are some of the poorest people in their respective countries. If the Christians are lucky there, they might be allowed to practice their Faith, but have no (or very little) property rights - and be martyred if they try to evangelize. When they’re unlucky, they face martyrdom just for being Christian. In addition, martyrdom is nearly guaranteed if one converts to Christianity from Islam in Muslim countries, as such an act is considered to be rejecting Islam - a crime punishable by death in Sharia law.You should read both of these:
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332338/100-000-Christians-killed-year-faith-says-Vatican-archbishop-Monsignor-Silvano-Maria-Tomasi-Iran-shuts-countrys-biggest-Pentecostal-church-arrests-pastor-mid-service.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
ucanews.com/news/persecution-kills-150000-christians-every-year/60090
So, in the last few years, 100,000 Christian martyrs every year, is probably a conservative estimate.
No distinction is made between Christians and Catholics. The Catholic Church is the largest denomination in the world, and Catholicism has a much larger and longer presence in the Muslim world, for example, than Protestants do.
powerofk is right to mention all of those nations as problematic, and all share some responsibility of the persecution of Christians. I personally, however, believe that Islam is the biggest threat to Christianity right now. The “Arab Spring” and the surge of Islamic fundamentalism that we have seen since 9/11, are probably responsible for an increase in persecution. Again, IMHO.
Christians endure violent persecution in many countries (133 as the once source says)… but only in a few countries in the Middle East is the situation so bad as to threaten the very existence of Christianity in those places. [Iraq and Syria especially so].
The Church in these places needs our prayers, and also our money.
Christianity is very much tolerated in China except for denominations with a religious head outside of China.It’s probably hard to know, as many of the countries where Christians in general (ainationnd Catholics specifically) are martyred are either secular totalitarian (such as China, Vietnam, and North Korea - this also includes countries in which the leaders are Christian on paper, but are oppressive and execute Christians who speak out against the oppression, such as Venezuela and Cuba) or under Islamist or attempted Islamist rule (such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, etc.). As such, it’s hard to get numbers on Christian martyrdom. I did hear, though, on Al Kresta’s program, that Christian persecution in today’s world is higher than it has ever been. I can’t remember the person he was interviewing, but it was in his Top 10 interviews of 2013. If Ave Maria radio has a podcast of it, you might be able to find a source there.
Yeah, the situation in the Middle East is becoming increasing harsh. During Advent a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem visited my parish and mentioned how the Israelis were making life unlivable there so many Palestinian Christians are leaving, And then there is the horrible stuff happening to Chaldeans in Iraq like bombings and headings.No kidding - the few Christians left in the Middle East are some of the poorest people in their respective countries. If the Christians are lucky there, they might be allowed to practice their Faith, but have no (or very little) property rights - and be martyred if they try to evangelize. When they’re unlucky, they face martyrdom just for being Christian. In addition, martyrdom is nearly guaranteed if one converts to Christianity from Islam in Muslim countries, as such an act is considered to be rejecting Islam - a crime punishable by death in Sharia law.
On the other hand, in the secular dictatorships, persecution is having the same effect as it had in ancient Rome. It’s just serving to strengthen the Church in China and other such countries. The Catholic Church is illegal in China, but that’s not stopping the rapid growth of the Church in China, including among Communist Party elite.