Bishop Robert Barron: Christianity is the most persecuted religion, and here’s what to do
In many Western countries, Christians are subjected to a less deadly but still severe form of persecution by ideological secularists, who see Christianity As their main intellectual and cultural opponent. In many ways, contemporary attacks on believers are a continuation of the anti-Christian violence of the twentieth century, which produced more Christian martyrs than the previous centuries combined. However, the source of hostility has changed dramatically. Whereas hostility to Christianity in the last century came largely from corrupt totalitarianism, secular and largely materialistic in orientation, opposition today comes, to a large extent, from militant forms of Islam in the Middle East, and in Asia, but especially in Asia. Africa.
Why should Christianity in particular be the target of such contempt and violent opposition? We can certainly identify social, economic and political factors, but it mostly has to do with the founder and the manner of his death.
It is useful to note the difference between the way Jesus died and the way many other great founders of religions died. Buddha died in old age, surrounded by his disciples, convinced that his spiritual movement had met with success. Muhammad died in his bed after a short illness, ensuring that his religion had spread throughout the world Arabian Peninsula. Confucius died of old age peacefully in his bed. His many followers decided to continue his moral teachings. The Bible says that Moses died at the age of 120, having successfully led his people from slavery to the borders of the Promised Land.
Bishop Robert Barron’s latest book is What Does It Take for Their Death? Christian Persecution Today. (Word on Fire/FNC)
Then there is Jesus. The founder of Christianity died at the age of 30 on a brutal instrument of torture and with an animalistic cry of abandonment on his lips. All of his disciples, except one, denied him, betrayed him, or abandoned him. By all appearances, his religious revolution proved to be a shipwreck. Why did this young rabbi die this way?
The founder of Christianity died at the age of 30 on a brutal instrument of torture and with an animalistic cry of abandonment on his lips. (Istock)
The simple answer is that He declared Himself divine: some of the amazing things He said include: “I and the Father are one.” “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” “If you don’t love me more than your mother and father, then you don’t deserve me.” “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
One might be tempted to say, “Well, he was clearly cheated and got what he deserved.” But what makes his story so strange is that the first missionaries of the Christian faith did not cover up the shame of the cross; On the contrary, they shouted it from the rooftops. Saint Paul says: “I know one thing: Christ and him crucified!” They could find such confidence only because God raised from the dead the One in whose name He claimed to speak and act in His person.
If he is what he says, you must give him your whole life; If not, you should oppose it. In short, Jesus imposed choice in a way that no other religious founder did. Didn’t he himself say: Either with me or against me? The unnerving and radical claim about Jesus is precisely what has aroused opposition over the centuries and continues to arouse resistance today.
Click here for more Fox News opinions
So, what can we do about the scandal of persecution against Christians?
First we have to pray.
I know it’s fashionable today to mock “thoughts and prayers,” but believers get it Authentic prayer Incomparably powerful. Saint John of Damascus defined prayer as “raising the mind and heart to God,” meaning that prayer is the way we connect ourselves to the creative source of the world’s existence. In the Bible, nothing real is accomplished apart from this clear connection of the soul with God.
Second, we must stay informed.
I vividly remember the night Bishop Alfred Abramovich, the auxiliary bishop of Chicago and friend of John Paul II, spoke to a hall full of seminarians about the death of a seminarian. A heroic young Polish priest By the communists. His compelling novel was my first awakening to the reality of anti-Catholic persecution in my time. So, subscribe to a trusted resource like Aid to the Church in Need, visit the web for updates and information, or perhaps invite a victim of persecution to address your church.
Third, providing assistance, direct and indirect, to those suffering under persecution.
Support charities that rebuild churches and schools, provide food and medicine to persecuted people, and provide funds to educate seminarians in countries suffering from anti-Christian hostility.
Click here to download the FOX NEWS app
Fourth and finally, defending religious freedom at home.
And believe me when I tell you that people who are persecuted because of their religion look to our political system as a model and source of hope. If religious freedom can flourish in the most powerful country in the world, it can flourish anywhere. But if we allow it to be jeopardized here, we greatly discourage those who yearn for it abroad.
Represents the persecution of Christians The biggest human rights violations today. Those who cherish freedom and human dignity cannot remain silent.
Editor’s Note: Bishop Robert Barron’s latest book is “What does it take for them to die? Christian persecution today” (Burning Word, April 13, 2026).
Click here to read more from Bishop Robert Barron
Post Comment