In 2023, twenty Catholic missionaries were murdered around the world.
According to the Vatican agency Fides, the number included one bishop, eight priests, two monks, one seminarian, one novice and seven lay missionaries.
Death of missionaries
According to the continental division, this year the highest number was recorded in Africa, where 9 missionaries died: 5 priests, 2 monks, 1 seminarian, 1 novice. In South and North America, 6 missionaries were murdered: 1 bishop, 3 priests, 2 laymen. Four bodies murdered in Asia. In Europe, Spanish shoemaker Diego Valencia was murdered with a machete by a young Moroccan. An apparently religiously motivated attack in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras also injured a priest and three other worshippers, some seriously.
According to Fides, a total of 1,168 priests, religious, laity and bishops have been murdered since 1990, including 248 missionaries killed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Over the past decade, approximately 25 missionaries have been murdered annually.
As in previous years, Fides uses the term “missionary” to refer to all baptized persons, recognizing that “by receiving baptism every member of the People of God has become a missionary disciple.”
Violence against Christians is increasing
As the interdenominational charity Open Doors reminds us, every seventh Christian in the world is being persecuted, and harassment and often open violence against them are currently on the rise.
Across 50 countries, the international agency’s current World Persecution Index records more than 360 million Christians exposed to high or extremely high levels of persecution and discrimination.
As a result of the violence, more and more Christians are living in isolation, uncertainty and fear of being attacked. The spiral of violence also has consequences for entire societies and future generations, warned the aid organization, which has been active since 1955.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
