Not everybody is aware that "80% of people persecuted for their faith today in the world are Christians.

The Christian religion seems to be the most persecuted in the world today. In 2008 alone, of the close to 2.2 billion Christians, 230 million suffered discrimination, marginalization, permanent hostility and even persecution because of their faith.

The persecution of Christians takes place especially in the former Soviet Republics, in the People's Republic of China and in neighboring countries, as well as in several Arab and North African countries.

Christians are mistreated, imprisoned or killed for their faith in at least 25 countries.
 
It is particularly sad to realize that in our Western countries this tragedy is not even known by Christians themselves. A reason for this lack of interest might be the fact that, while persecuted brothers proclaim their faith publicly, we have reduced it to a private matter.

We shut ourselves up in our own internal problems and do not take serious consideration of our public mission in society, in politics, in the State, if we don't forget it all together.

Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that "if Christians are resigned to consider faith and Church as a private individual matter, then faith itself loses strength.” The analysis of the Pope is correct:  the more religion becomes a private matter, the more it loses its soul.

There is still a more subtle persecution: through the mass media by “morally lynching” the representatives of religion, discrediting them, distorting facts. We have also to remember to old maxim: the martyrs’ (it means: witnesses) blood is the seed for more Christians” by Cyprian. If Christ was crucified and died, he rose from the dead giving us a solid ground for hope.