UK_ Rev. Philip Mountstephen, the Bishop of Truro, has released the report into the persecution of Christians around the world, alongside recommendations and criticisms.
Commissioned in December by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt, the findings today points to the evidence that Christians constitute by far the most widely persecuted religion.
About 80% of religiously motivated attacks in the world are against Christians. This should now be called ‘Christophobia’, the report suggested.
Bishop Philip recommended that the UK government stays prepared to impose sanctions, ensure they can respond to immediately atrocities and establish a ‘John Bunyan’ fund, to go towards helping persecuted Christians.
It also suggests Britain aspires to be the global leader in freedom of religion and belief and to ensure that those values underlie its operations abroad, with a specific commitment to upholding the rights of minorities.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Mr Hunt said:
“I’m not convinced that our efforts on behalf of Christians have always matched the scale of the problem or indeed have reflected the evidence that it is Christians who frequently endure the heaviest burden in persecution. Perhaps because of a misguided political correctness or an instinctive reluctance to talk about religion, British governments haven’t always grappled with this problem.”
He said it wasn’t fair that Christians abroad have received so little attention and that if he becomes the next Prime Minister, he would “accept the recommendations in full”.
One of the developments was the naming of this discrimination as Christophobia and that all Foreign Office staff should undergo mandatory training on religious literacy, subject to resources.
Mr Hunt concluded by saying:
“As the Christian doctrine of original sin reminds us, the capacity for wickedness is inherent in the human condition. We’ll never be able to extirpate anti-Christian bigotry but nor must we shrug our shoulders and walk on the other side of the road”.
Speaking to Premier Christian Radio, Bishop Philip said that “the Foreign Office really needs to get on the front foot and mainstream this issue.”
He added that the scale of the problem had personally struck him but also how many other issues the topic of persecution had uncovered, saying:
“If you lift the stone that’s marked ‘persecution’ you find all sorts of really unpleasant and sinister things underneath it – you find militant nationalism, you find authoritative regimes that brook no opposition, you find religious fundamentalism of various sorts that are often very intolerant of Christian minorities.”
Bishop Philip said he was shocked that the most dangerous place in the world to be a Catholic priest was Mexico because they often stand in the way of organised crime and that the situation in Nepal, China and India had worsened a lot in the last few years.
Speaking of Mr Hunt’s efforts, the Bishop said he has been very impressed with him.
“I think he is a man of integrity and conviction and this is not an issue that he has just hitched his carriage to recently. He has been concerned about this issue for a long, long time…And I think it’s a conviction and a passion that he holds quite dearly.”
One of his recommendations was that the government be prepared to use sanctions. When asked what these would be, he replied:
“I think the question of what sanction would be appropriate would change from context to context and of course whether you’re talking about individuals or whether you’re talking about states but there’s a tool kit of possibilities that are out there that governments have used in the past.”
Time will tell whether the recommendations will be implemented and whether the changes they bring about have the strength to change the lives of those persecuted for their religion or belief.
An estimated one-third of the world’s population suffers from religious persecution in some form, with 80% of them being Christians, it is claimed.
Open Doors, which monitors Christian persecution around the world, has estimated that on average each month 345 Christians are killed for faith-related issues.
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