Source: www.persecution.org
Date: July 6, 2021
Canada (International Christian Concern) – As intolerance of religion continues to rise around the world, violence targeting Christians is becoming increasingly felt in the West. During the recent Canada Day holiday, ten churches were targeted and vandalized as a “protest” against the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the school system. One of the churches was an African Evangelical church that hosted several African refugees who had escaped persecution in Africa and had come to Canada in search of safety and freedom. The incidents of vandalism and hate undoubtedly brought back difficult memories for these survivors and their families.
As churches in Canada were vandalized and burned, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attacks “unacceptable,” but then called the incidents “fully understandable.”
Incidents of persecution or hate incidents targeting communities of faith in the West have risen in recent years. In France, 129 thefts and 877 acts of vandalism of catholic sites were recorded in 2018. In first months of 2019, the Conference of French Bishops reported 228 violent anti-Christian acts throughout the country.
Incidents like these show a growing trend of active hatred toward Christians and anti-religious sentiments throughout the West, including antisemitism, which has also seen a sharp rise as Jewish communities have frequently found themselves the target of hate and discrimination.
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for restoration of the property that was damaged. Pray for the vandals to be held accountable. Pray for greater acceptance of Christianity in the West.