“At present, Christianity is the religion most exposed to intolerance and discrimination worldwide, with the phenomenon of Christianophobia being quite widespread globally,” Romania’s Ambassador to the Holy See and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta said on the occasion of the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, observed on 22 August.
In a video message published on social media, His Excellency George Bologan stressed that the observance is a day of remembrance “but also of responsibility, because religious freedom is not a privilege but a fundamental human right, enshrined, among other provisions, in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration is useful for peaceful coexistence and the prevention of conflict, but unfortunately it sometimes becomes a dead letter.”
The ambassador said that the phenomenon of Christianophobia “should prompt the leaders and faithful of Christian denominations to consider becoming more united in the face of the numerous acts of intimidation and intolerance. Christians should become a community beyond denominational boundaries, especially because they uphold the same truths of faith and moral principles.”
According to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), 413 million Christians live in countries where religious freedom is seriously violated, while approximately 220 million are directly exposed to persecution.
His Excellency explained that “the worst-affected regions remain sub-Saharan Africa, where jihadist violence caused more than 22,000 deaths in 2024 alone, and the Middle East, where armed conflicts have led to an exodus of Christian communities.”
Concluding his message, Ambassador George Bologan stressed that on 22 August “we do not merely commemorate the victims of acts of violence based on religious belief; we must also reaffirm our commitment not to look the other way with indifference when such situations occur and when radicalisation takes the place of democratic values.”
Photo: Facebook / Embassy of Romania to the Holy See
