In 2024, ACN to focus on Africa, Middle East, Latin America

Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need, highlights the disturbing increase in religious freedom violations around the world.

You were named executive president in April 2023. What is your vision for the organization over the coming years?

First, I am so grateful for the way ACN has developed since 1947. Over the years, we have become a stronger voice for persecuted and suffering Christians all over the world, raising awareness of their plight and supporting them with our prayers and our material and pastoral aid.

Sadly, though, there is still a lot to do, and my hope is that we can become even stronger in the coming years in carrying out this task through the many campaigns that we do, and become still more attached to our project partners, especially in countries where the Church is persecuted or suffering.

ACN published its Religious Freedom Report in 2023. What were the main findings? 

We surveyed 196 countries, and we’ve seen that religious discrimination and persecution have increased worldwide, and in 47 of those countries, the situation has worsened, which is pretty depressing. This includes large countries like India, China, and Pakistan, but also a lot of African countries, especially in the Sahel region, in western Africa.

There are some countries where the situation has improved tentatively, like Egypt, but in 28 countries we found explicit persecution, while Christians in 33 countries suffer from discrimination. What we see is that 62 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where religious freedom is restricted or violated. That doesn’t mean that all these citizens are persecuted, but it is sobering. 

ACN has many projects in the Middle East. What is the situation like in the region now?

Obviously, the Holy Land is a major concern at the moment, due to the horrific conflict affecting Christians in the West Bank, and there is also the little flock in Gaza. It’s very sad.

ACN has been trying to help, but there is great concern that the conflict will flow over into Lebanon, which is still the country in the Middle East with the biggest concentration of Christians. This would be a crisis, because we know that Christians across the region are tempted to leave. In Syria, we cannot talk about persecution per se, but we are heading into the 13th year of civil war. There is still a lot of conflict, and the earthquake made life even more difficult. There is always the danger that Syria will slip off the radar, so it is important that we keep focusing on that country, to remind people of what has happened.

As for Iraq, the situation for Christians improved somewhat after Pope Francis’s visit in 2021, and when we went back the next year, we felt that maybe there was more hope, but we don’t know how it is going to develop. The Christians see some positive signs, but they also feel uncertainty: is fighting going to erupt again? What might happen?

ACN warns that Asia is threatening to become the new focus of anti-Christian persecution. How bad is the situation there?

Asia a continent that worries us. There are problems in many countries, like China, but in others, the situation has gotten visibly worse. It is important to mention India, which is also a huge power. Although its constitution guarantees religious freedom, and the country has a distinct form of secularism that strives to be tolerant. However, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, we have seen it going downhill. There is less tolerance for minorities, such as Christians and Muslims.

At the moment, there are 12 states with anti-conversion laws, which prohibit conversion to any religion other than Hinduism. There have been many incidents of people being attacked, put into prison, and falsely accused because of these laws. But despite all that, the different Christian Churches provide so much education and healthcare, among other services. However, I am not very optimistic about the way things are going in India. 

Looking to Europe, what are the big challenges for the Church in Ukraine, as it completes two years of war?

Nobody knows when the war in Ukraine is going to end. We continue to work with the Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine to help priests and sisters survive and work with IDPs. But the big issue at the moment that we hope to help with is the need for trauma healing. Everybody is affected in one way or another. The Church is aware of this and is striving to find ways to provide trauma healing for the population.

What about the Sahel region? You mentioned a rise in Christian persecution there.

We intend to focus more on the Sahel countries in 2024. One of the worst affected by violence, perhaps after Nigeria, is Burkina Faso, where Jihadist attacks are spreading. We also want to focus on Mali and Niger to help the Church aid people who are displaced.

In Nigeria, there is great insecurity. The bishops have asked us to help them be more alert before an incident happens, with security around the parishes. The priests want to stay with the people, although they are kidnapping targets.

What about other countries in Africa?

We are very worried about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the situation could explode at any moment. Countries in the region and armed groups fight for natural resources, bringing misery to the local population. The presidential and legislative elections were marked by violence. We must pray.

What regions of the world do you expect to be the principal focus of aid for ACN next year?

We will continue to focus strongly on the Middle East, given the very unstable situation and our concern that more Christians will leave the region; on Ukraine, because there is no indication that the war is going to end; Myanmar, where we watch the worsening violence with concern; and on the Sahel region – Nigeria, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

And, of course, we can’t forget Latin America, where anti-Church resentment has been spreading, despite the Church’s role in helping society with education, healthcare, and the Church’s social teaching. We are particularly worried about Nicaragua, where dozens of priests were arrested this year. Recently, the vast majority were freed, but one bishop remains in prison, and another was arrested only days ago. Where will it end up? Only God knows.

One of ACN’s priorities is spiritual aid, through prayer. How important is that?

We place prayer at the center of what we do. It is extremely important. There are countries in the world where it might be difficult to help with material aid, or where situations are so bad that, for the moment, we cannot send aid. But what we can do is activate our wonderful group of benefactors, a real powerhouse of prayer, and we are always asking them to pray for the persecuted and needy Church. We will do everything we can to preserve and nurture this spiritual tool.

In terms of positive news and developments, what would you highlight from 2023?

Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors in 2023, we will be able to fund 5,500 to 6,000 projects worldwide. That is very positive. Being able to do so despite the economic climate is really good news. 

—Filipe d’Avillez