Saint Athanasius by Ermes Dovico

Religious Freedom


The 21 martyrs killed by ISIS, true followers of Christ...
PERSECUTION

The 21 martyrs killed by ISIS, true followers of Christ...

Five years have passed since 21 young Christian men were brutally slaughtered on a Libyan beach by Islamic State members. Twenty were Coptic Christians, Egyptians working in Libya, the 21st came from Ghana. Before the execution, they raised their prayer: Ya Rabbi Yassou, “O Lord Jesus”. The Coptic Orthodox Church declared them martyrs, and a book has reconstructed their life. A life based on a truly lived Gospel, with no compromise with the world.


Abu Dhabi, one year later: The ambiguity about religions remains
ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY

Abu Dhabi, one year later: The ambiguity about religions remains

One year after the signing of the Abu Dhabi Declaration, two fundamental ambiguities remain: the will of God regarding the plurality of religions and the way in which religions ought to collaborate for peace. But the point is this: the way in which religions see God determines the way they see the human person, the family, woman, law, and freedom, as well as peace.


Pakistan: judges rule it’s OK to rape Christian girls
SENTENCE AGAINST HUMA

Pakistan: judges rule it’s OK to rape Christian girls

Scandalous sentence of the Sindh High Court against the 14-year-old Catholic Huma Younus, kidnapped, raped and forced to marry a Muslim man: the marriage is valid, according to Sharia law, because Huma had already begun her menstrual cycle. This proves that Pakistani laws, which prohibit marriage to minors, are only a façade to secure Western economic aid, firstly from the European Union. The judgement sounds like a sentence for the thousands of Christian girls who suffer the same fate, with forced conversions perpetrated through abduction and sexual violence.


India, "Christmas gift" for the harassed Church
ELECTION IN JHARKHAND STATE

India, "Christmas gift" for the harassed Church

The defeat of the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP in the election to the state legislature of Jharkhand was a real "Christmas gift" for the Christians, after years of persecution from the hindu nationalists. Very happy is Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi, after years of false accuses againts nuns and priests.


Huma's ordeal: abducted, converted to Islam and forced to marry her abductor
PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS

Huma's ordeal: abducted, converted to Islam and forced to marry her abductor

It was October 10, 2019: Huma Younus, a 14-year-old Christian girl, is abducted by a Muslim man, named Abdul Jabbar. Her parents went immediately to the police station to file their complaint, but in their pursuit of justice they have run straight into a brick wall. Every year in Pakistan at least a thousand Christian and Hindu girls are kidnapped. In the meantime, the abductor raped Huma and forced her to marry him and convert to Islam. After the first judicial troubles, Huma's family found the support of Aid to the Church in Need and a legal help from a Catholic lawyer, Tabassum Youssaf. She is risking her life, but she's determined to fight this battle


Spirited protests force belligerent Hindu nationalists on the backfoot
INDIA

Spirited protests force belligerent Hindu nationalists on the backfoot

The Hindu nationalist BJP (Indian People’s Party) that returned to power with an emphatic victory in 2019 is in jitters following unprecedented protests over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, a move to deny citizenship to Muslim refugees. The church too joined the chorus of protest, because the discrimination on the basis of religion envisaged in the Citizenship Act and NRC is against secularism and democratic values


Warning: Study says climate sceptics should be straitjacketed
THOUGHT-CRIME

Warning: Study says climate sceptics should be straitjacketed

Here we go. The thesis of a Bavarian psychotherapist: those who are not  "adequately interested in the imminent destruction of the world as we know it" require medical treatment. They have"psychological problems" that require psychotherapy. It’s thought-crime and social engineering in the name of climate control.


New Martyrs for a Schizophrenic Spain
THE DECREE

New Martyrs for a Schizophrenic Spain

The Pope has recognised a further 27 martyrs, religious murdered in hatred of their faith during the Spanish Civil War, bringing to 1,962 the total number of martyrs for Christ, the most extensive persecution in Church History. But the current political composition of the country is very similar to that which 80 years ago led to the extermination of so many Catholics. So, while the Church beatifies its martyrs, the cultural and media mainstream still believes that the executioners were justified.


Kerala’s ruling Communists dump proposed legislation to control church property
INDIA

Kerala’s ruling Communists dump proposed legislation to control church property

The powerful church leadership in southern Kerala state heaved a sigh of relief after Pinarayi Vijayan, the Communist chief minister of the state, denied plan to enact a legislation drafted by the State Law Reforms Commission to take control of church properties.
- VERSIONE ITALIANA


The suffering Christians of the Middle East: Where is God in all this?
TESTIMONY

The suffering Christians of the Middle East: Where is God in all this?

My family has always felt privileged that God has chosen us and shown us his mercy and favour. It was thanks to my ‘unlettered’ paternal grandmother that I’ve come to learn that God never tempts or tests anyone beyond their ability...