Cavan-Monaghan TD Brendan Smith has said that the global persecution of Christians is “not an issue that gets near enough widespread coverage as it should” and that he was shocked by the contents of a recent report.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith said that he thinks “the vast majority of people would not be aware of the extent of the persecution of Christians”.

He added that he thought people of all faiths or no faith, “would be equally horrified by the reports and the extent of the persecution”.

Church in Chains recently launched their 4th Global Guide which lists 60 countries where 200 million Christians face varying degrees of persecution because of their faith.

Deputy Smith commented: “what I read outlines very, very clearly how deplorable these activities are, and how they need to be addressed and stamped out as much as is possible”.