Britain’s House of Lords is to be the venue for the launch of a major report into anti-Christian persecution next week.
Compiled by the Christian charity Aid to the Church in Need, the report ‘Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2013-15’ is expected to reflect both the stark plight of Christians across the Middle East who have either been killed or forced from their homes amid the tumultuous upheavals across that region, and the rising tide of militant Islam in Africa which is having a direct impact on Christian communities there.
Based on findings from 22 countries, the report seeks to examine the situation of Christians in those nations compared to study findings two years ago.
All findings are based on in-country reports, witness testimonies, interviews with local prelates, religious congregations and lay people, and set against the findings compiled by NGOs operating in the same regions.
In addition to Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the House of Lords launch will be addressed by Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo, Syria, who will offer an eyewitness account of the suffering endured by the minority Christian community there, and Victoria Youhanna, a Nigerian teen who escaped the clutches of the militant Boko Haram group in her country.
The launch of ‘Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2013-15’ will take place on October 13.