Christian persecution rises, again, ACN reports

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)’s new report outlines sobering and shocking realities ahead of Red Wednesday on Nov. 18.

In the lead up to Red Wednesday, where awareness is raised about the persecution of Christians around the globe, the international Catholic pastoral aid organization's Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for Their Faith 2024-26 found there are 413 million Christians around the world at risk of persecution and that 220 million are facing severe forms of tyranny such as abductions, forced displacement and extremist violence.

Conditions for followers of Christ worsened in 10 of 18 examined countries between August 2024 and June 2026, while no nations improved. Circumstances in China, Iran, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan and Sudan deteriorated the most.

Advertisement

“What is shocking is just how mainstream — dare I say tolerated — the persecution of Christians is as simply part of the global reality,” said Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, N.Y. “Awareness of so much persecution moves us to a greater solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering. As Christians, we pray and cry out for respect for religious freedom of all people in every land."

Mario Bard, the director of communications for ACN Canada, said his organization is sharing the report with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Global Affairs Canada, the federal government department in charge of foreign relations, international development and humanitarian assistance. He is also calling for other Canadian Catholics to also pass along the findings.

“Why not give a copy to their representative or to any person who could be interested? It's very important to share the information. This is something that maybe we don't do enough in our society,” said Bard.

He also emphasized that “this is one of the best countries in the world for religious freedom” as there are opportunities to speak out against possible experiences of discrimination.

Advertisement

“We need to cherish this freedom and to be aware that it's always something that we will have to work on, even as a very free society,” said Bard.

A key overarching finding in the report is that authoritarian regimes are tightening the repressive noose. In China, for example, “a wave of arrests started in late 2025 and continued in early 2026, targeting unregistered organizations,” as religious Chinese are only permitted to practice with state-sanctioned patriotic associations that align doctrine with Chinese Communist Party values. Another recent development in China is the September 2025 Online Code of Conduct for Religious Personnel, which made posting religious content online illegal without a “special license." Liturgies, prayer sessions and spiritual formation activities for youth are prohibited from streaming.  

ACN also found that Christians are increasingly being branded as “unwanted aliens” where religious nationalism movements are on the rise. In Pakistan, for example, “increasingly influential Islamist groups framed minorities as a demographic threat, resulting in endemic abuse of Christian minorities, notably young girls and women forced to convert and marry.”

The index also emphasizes the situation in sub-Saharan Africa as dire, as six of the top 10 countries listed in the Global Terrorism Index emanate from this continent: Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kidnappings, forced displacements and jihadist violence have become a common reality. In Nigeria alone, there are millions among the displaced, and it is widely recognized over the past several years as the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian by various watchdogs.

Deep-rooted concerns about the future of Christianity in the Middle East also remain a clear and present concern. Regarding Syria, amid the upheaval following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s 54-year regime, clerics are warning “of a possible existential threat to the Church amid reports its Christian population had declined by more than 80 per cent since 2011.” As for Red Wednesday, Bard calls on believers to join in prayer on Nov. 18 and to attend the evening liturgy.

Advertisement

He calls on secular-minded Canadians to stand in solidarity by championing Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which reads: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

Read Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for Their Faith 2024-26 at publications.churchinneed.org.

(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)

A version of this article appeared in the November 15, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Christian persecution rises, again, ACN reports".