Christian Persecution Increases in Philippines
Christians in the Philippines are facing persecution on the level of their brothers and sisters in the Middle East, says a missionary priest. According to Christian Today, Father Sebastiano D’Ambra said in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need that 14 people were murdered on Christmas day and a grenade was thrown at a chapel. Nine Christians were also killed on Christmas Eve. The violence was perpetrated by members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. “In some areas of Mindanao we are experiencing exactly the same thing as is happening in Iraq,” said Father D’Ambra. D’Ambra has been in the Philippines nearly 50 years and is an experienced missionary. “The situation is a worrying one. It is difficult to establish for certain whether the violence was directed specifically against Christians, even though everything points to the fact that this was the case. Without doubt our brothers and sisters in the faith are at least one of the targets of these fundamentalist groups,” he said. He added that although persecution makes his mission more difficult, it is “more necessary than ever at the present time.”
Mexico: Persecution Forces 30 Christians to Flee Their Homes
Thirty Mexican Christians have been forced from their homes due to persecution, according to Christian Today. The Christians, who are Protestants and a minority among the Catholic-dominated country, were victims of a raid that destroyed their homes on January 4. Christian Today reports that the perpetrators of the violence are thought to be the commissioner of the community, Jimenez Hernandez, and the municipal agent, Francisco Jimenez Santiz. International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that “in the rural areas where we see persecution, many villages and their councils are dominated by adherents to syncretistic Catholicism.” Syncretistic Catholicism is a religion that mixes Catholicism with native beliefs and rituals. Since Protestants are a minority in Mexico, “they have no access to the financial, legal, or political resources necessary to end the persecution they suffer,” according to ICC advocacy manager Nathaniel Lance. Lance stated that persecution often begins with “financial disagreements, where village leaders want the Protestants to pay for the religious festivals, and other things used for syncretistic Catholic rituals.” Although Protestants face persecution in Mexico, Catholics do as well. In 2014, more Catholic priests were killed in Mexico than anywhere else in the world.