(Worthy News) – Over 400 million Christians live in countries that persecute churches, ACS-Italia, the Italian chapter of Aid to the Church in Need, has assessed. The data also shows persecution of believers around the world is worsening, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
In an interview with Vatican News, Alessandro Monteduro, director of ACS-Italia, said around 416 million Christians live in “lands of persecution,” CP reports. “I want to clarify that ‘living in lands of persecution’ does not mean ‘persecuted,’ but living in a land of persecution, however,
exposes you daily to risks that may arise due to the behavior of the persecutors,” Monteduro said.
Monteduro also told Vatican News that Christians are especially suffering in parts of the world where Islamic extremists have embedded themselves and are progressing murderous campaigns against believers. “Across Africa, from sub-Saharan Africa to East Africa, there are at least a couple of dozen terrorist organizations that have the ambition, from their point of view, to install caliphates in their territories,” Monteduro said.