By the beginning of 2011, Christianity has been described as the world's most persecuted religion. Yet despite the growing problems faced by many Christians, media coverage of their plight remains scarce.

Describing the situation in 33 countries, Persecuted and Forgotten? Shows how in some places Christians are denied their basic rights. This includes places in the Middle East where Pope Benedict XVI has said that churches are "threatened in their very existence".

Drawing on the latest Christian persecution reports available and first-hand testimony, Persecuted and Forgotten? describes the struggles faced by Christian communities who are prevented from practicing their faith and living normal lives. It is for these people that Catholic charities like Aid to the Church in Need exist.

Religious liberty as a fundamental human right is being neglected by world public opinion, above all by politicians and the media. And yet religious liberty is one of the most vital preconditions for democracy.

You will find no better summary about your fellow Christian brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith. Please pray for them.

* Please note that some of the reports make for unavoidably distressing reading and hence the book may be judged inappropriate for very young children and other vulnerable people.

Religious Freedom in the World - Report 2010

The massacre of Syrian Catholic Christians in Baghdad on October 31 2010, sharply recalled a reality that is sadly growing all over the world: religious freedom is more and more under threat. While terrorists blasted through the group of faithful gathered for Mass, witnesses of the attack reported a child, three years of age, crying out: "Enough, enough!" He was shot at point blank range by the assailants, just as were 44 other people and two priests.

This child's cry demands that attention is given to all those who, every day, all over the world, are persecuted because of their religious beliefs. The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has released its 2010 detailed report on the attacks on religious freedom encountered by various religious minorities throughout the world.

Since the last report was released in 2008 the overall picture indicates that the situation has deteriorated further. In addition to the existing forms of persecution, there is also a growing intolerance towards Christianity, especially in countries of the so-called "first world", where the term "Christianophobia" has now come into use in the media.

In a majority of the 194 countries covered in the report there are restrictions on religious freedom in some way. Countries with severe restrictions and/or many episodes of social or legal intolerance related to religion are: Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Laos, Maldives, Burma, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

While the Report concerns all suffering or oppressed religious minorities there is no doubt that all the reports on the subject, including those provided by international organisations, show that the Christians are the group most exposed to persecution. According to the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) (source: Agenzia Fides 30/09/2010), at least 75% of religious persecution is directed at people of the Christian faith.

Please click here to read a summary of the report. The full report is only available on CD-Rom. Produced in six languages, the CD-Rom can be obtained via our On Line store for a donation of $5.00.

Rwanda: 30th Anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Sorrows

November 2011 is the 30th anniversary of the first apparition and the 10th anniversary of the Church's official recognition of Our Lady of the Sorrows in Rwanda.

In 2003, the Vatican formally recognized a series of Marian apparitions that occurred between 1981 and 1983 in the town of Kibeho in the southwest of Rwanda.

It was here that three young women received messages about their spiritual life but also darker visions of an impending violence that was to visit Rwanda.

A civil war between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes broke out in April 1994. The genocide that followed, took 800.000 lives, above all women and children.

Today Kibeho is under the care of the Pallottine Fathers, and they are striving to make it a center of pilgrimage for reconciliation, conversion and peace.

Please click here to view the short film. (Please note that some viewers may find scenes in this film clip disturbing)

The Situation of the Church in the Holy Land

World religious leaders have called on Churches in the West to help Christians in the Holy Land who are threatened by religious intolerance and deepening poverty. Emigration is such a serious problem that if it continues at current levels Christians will all but disappear. According to some senior clergy, Christians now make up more than 20% of emigrants. It is an alarming statistic given that Christians number about 160,000. In 2008, the year that the state of Israel celebrated its 60th anniversary, reports showed that in the years following the foundation of the state, Christians in Bethlehem declined from 85% to 12% of the population. In Jerusalem, the situation is just as serious. There, Christians have fallen from 20% to just 1.1%. Abandoning the Holy Land is for many a very painful decision. They know that the more people leave, the worse it becomes for those left behind.

What would Christmas Day at the birth place of Christ be like if the faithful were no longer there to gather, worship and celebrate? The 'living stones' - the faithful themselves - who walk the lands Christ knew so well, are in need of help, otherwise Christianity runs the risk of losing this first-hand witness and the Holy Places simply become museums for tourists to visit. To view the video please click here.

The video also features the support the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need is providing beleaguered Christian families in Bethlehem by the distribution of olive wood rosaries and other handmade carvings to Christians in the Western world. To see the range of handmade olive wood devotional items please click here.

Cuba: Complete renovation of a house for the "Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary"

Mother Superior Marķa del Carmen Balmaseda, Sister Jeanine Paquin and Sister Colette Rodrigue inside their house which is in need of renovation

 The Holy Family Parish in Santiago de Cuba is a meeting place for many of the inhabitants of the surrounding quarters. Santiago, on the south coast of the island, is the second-largest city in Cuba with close on 500,000 inhabitants and is seen as something of a melting pot of cultures, because it unites the Caribbean and African traditions. It is known as the capital of the Son Cubano, or “Cuban sound” a typical Cuban style of music, and of the Cuban Carnival also.
 The pastoral team in the Holy Family Parish includes the sisters of the congregation of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Siervas del Corazon Inmaculado de María). Their charism involves the "establishment of a school of God's love", a theme that is expressed in a wide range of pastoral and humanitarian activities. Prior to the revolution the sisters were still running schools, but since then they have been forced to restrict their activities to the pastoral ministry in the parishes.
 Today the three sisters - the Superior, María del Carmen Balmaseda and Sisters Jeanine Paquin and Colette Rodrigue - are active in a number of parishes. They run catechetical courses, care for families, support married couples and lead a prayer group. They visit the sick and coordinate a visiting service in a local hospital. At the same time they help out once a week, serving the pilgrims in the famous Marian shrine of El Cobre. Our Lady of El Cobre is honoured today as the Patroness of Cuba. The year 2012 will mark the 400th anniversary of the finding of her mysterious image in the Bay of Nipe, not far away on the north-eastern coast.
  The Siervas del Corazon Inmaculado de María have been present in Cuba since 1950 and have worked in the parish of the Holy Family since 1979. For a time they were able to live in the presbytery, but then in August 2010 they had to move to make way for the Jesuit Fathers, who had arrived shortly before to take over the pastoral care of the parish. Thanks to some earlier generous donations, the three religious, who for a long time had no place of their own, were able to purchase a very run-down house in the neighbourhood. There was no other alternative.
  But this ancient building is in urgent need of renovation. Though they have managed to rewire the electrical system and carry out a few other minor repairs, there are still pieces of the wooden ceiling hanging loose and threatening to fall, while water has also penetrated from the outside, through the walls, which are a mixture of wood, stone and mortar; and the roof also leaks. In fact the best solution would have been to demolish the house and build a new one, but owing to the bureaucracy and the constant shortage of building materials, such a solution is unthinkable. And so the house must be repaired instead. The total cost will be around $30,000. The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has stepped in to help with a subsidy of $24,000.
  The vital work of Catholic charities like Aid to the Church In Need provide a lifeline to the Church wherever she is poor, persecuted or threatened. Please help our work by donating online or send your donation to Aid to the Church in Need, PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Ph: (02) 9679-1929

Click here for past weeks' featured projects

Reports for you to read about the work of Aid to the Church in Need

ACN is unique from other Catholic Charities as it offers pastoral assistance to the Church wherever she is poor or suffering under Christian persecution.