Stop The Systematic Persecution of The Christian Church

1. RUSSIA: Russia’s Supreme Court recently declared Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian denomination that rejects violence, an extremist organization, banning the group from operating on Russian territory and putting its more than 170,000 Russian worshipers in the same category as Islamic State militants.

2. RUSSIA: A notice at the Moscow City Court says hearings on a proposed ban on Seventh-day Adventist Church would begin in May 2017.

3. ICELAND: "Iceland Declares Christianity A Public Health Hazard"
The island country of Iceland has officially declared Christianity a public health hazard.

4. NIGERIA: Nigerian Archbishop Calls on Govt to Protect Christians from ‘Wanton Destruction’ from Muslims

Reported by Thomas D. Williams on www.breitbart.com

The President of the Nigerian Catholic bishops’ conference has appealed to the government to be “more proactive” in defending Christians from the atrocities being wrought by the Muslim population in north-central Nigeria.

During December, more than 800 people—mostly Christians—died in inter-religious violence in the south of kaduna state, which forms part of Nigeria’s so-called middle belt, where the chiefly Muslim north of the country meets the mainly christian south.

According to Vatican Radio, the Muslim Fulani Cattle herdsmen in the area have recently committed “atrocities” resulting in the deaths of “thousands of Christians and the destruction of property worth millions of Naira.”

The Nigerian government claims that the death toll is actually lower than the one given by the Catholic church.

In a statement, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, President of the Bishops’ Conference, said the bishops were “particularly saddened by the constant and wanton destruction of lives and properties,” noting that faith-based violence had spread around the country and “no one knows which community will be the next victim.”

The crisis and violence in southern kaduna has destabilized the region and “brought untold hardship and tensions” on the local christian population, Kaigama said...

Another local bishop, Joseph Bagobiri of Kafanchan, blamed the government for the systematic elimination of Christians in southern kaduna, noting that it will be difficult for Christianity to survive in northern Nigeria.

“The crisis here has persisted because of the way and manner the federal and state governments, as well as the security agents are handling it,” Bagobiri said. “The root cause of this crisis is the institutionalisation of what could be regarded as structural injustice.”

In my view, he said, this is “a deliberate policy of injustice designed to shut our people out from the scheme of things and deny us our rights.”

“We as a Church must evolve new ways on how we can face violence without losing faith,” Bagobiri said. “It is our prayer that God will give us his strength and the needed direction on how to make Christianity survive despite the constant attacks and persecutions we received.”

He added that people have turned to prayer in the absence of government help.

“It is only God that can save us from our present situation,” the bishop said...