After a year in which 8 million Christians faced persecution, activists with the Netherlands-based Open Door network released a report claiming that 3,490 Christians were killed in Nigeria, out of 4,849 worldwide.
While the Holy See has remained cautious on this issue, Pope Leo XIV made his concerns clear when facing the Vatican diplomatic corps.
"It cannot be overlooked that the persecution of Christians remains one of the most widespread human rights crises today," he said, in a January 9 address. "This phenomenon impinges on approximately one in seven Christians globally. … Sadly, all of this demonstrates that religious freedom is considered in many contexts more as a 'privilege' or concession than a fundamental human right.
"Here, I would especially call to mind the many victims of violence, including religiously motivated violence in Bangladesh, in the Sahel region and in Nigeria, as well as those of the serious terrorist attack last June on the parish of Saint Elias in Damascus."
In a wide-ranging address that avoided criticizing specific governments, Pope Leo linked Catholic moral teachings to the rights of migrants, prisoners, noncombatants, the poor and the unborn, while also opposing what he called "a diplomacy based on force." He bluntly warned: "War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading."
The pope also addressed forms of discrimination and even persecution based on efforts to undercut core human rights, such as religious liberty and freedom of speech. This is even happening, he said, in countries where Christians "are in the majority, such as in Europe or the Americas," where believers are "sometimes restricted in their ability to proclaim the truths of the Gospel for political or ideological reasons."
In public life, mass media and the digital world, he said, words are being twisted and redefined, which leads to "language … becoming more and more a weapon with which to deceive, or to strike and offend opponents." Without the right to "express distinct and clear realities unequivocally" it is impossible to have constructive dialogue, he added.
"It is painful to see how, especially in the West, the space for genuine freedom of expression is rapidly shrinking," said Leo. "At the same time, a new Orwellian-style language is developing which, in an attempt to be increasingly inclusive, ends up excluding those who do not conform to the ideologies that are fueling it.
"Unfortunately, this leads to other consequences that end up restricting fundamental human rights, starting with the freedom of conscience."
While being diplomatic, the pope ventured into divisive issues explored a year ago by another major Catholic voice in public life. In a Munich Security Conference speech, Vice President J.D. Vance accused some European leaders of "dismissing people, dismissing their concerns or worse yet, shutting down media" while trying to police speech.
"Speaking up and expressing opinions isn't election interference," Vance said. "Even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential -- and trust me, I say this with all humor -- if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg's scolding you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.
"Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There is no room for firewalls. You either uphold the principle, or you don't."
Once again, reactions to Pope Leo's words were shaped -- especially in American media coverage -- by the "tendency to see him merely as the 'US pope,'" noted historian Marco Gallina, a German-Italian writing for the online journal LEO (Latin for "lion"). In this case, the pope, rather than addressing American politics, focused on truly global trends. It's important that Leo called religious freedom the "first of all human rights," quoting Pope Benedict XIV.
"The pontiff is not woke," stressed Gallina. "The essence of his remarks: human rights are in danger worldwide, and this applies not only to dictatorships but to Western democracies as well. The pontiff speaks of a 'short circuit' in human rights, explicitly highlighting freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, religious freedom and the right to life."
It is becoming clear that Pope Leo XIV considers the church more than a "spiritual NGO." On these themes, said Gallina, "The lion has found his voice."
FIRST IMAGE: Framed poster of Pope Leo XIV for sale ar McKay Church Goods.
