Middle Eastern Christians fear if 'future in the region is sustainable' amid rising persecution: watchdog
The report, titled "Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for Their Faith 2024-26," covers August 2024 through June 2026 and was compiled by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Assessing the situation for roughly 413 million Christians in 18 countries where religious freedom violations are of particular concern, the report noted that the escalating trends of persecution from its last report have continued. Upheaval in the Middle East has led to concern regarding Christianity's survival in its ancient heartland, according to ACN, which pinpointed the ongoing civil war in Syria, Islamist violence in the Levant and the ramifications of Israel's response to Hamas' terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, as particularly concerning. "Israeli operations in Gaza killed or displaced thousands, with the Holy Family and Saint Porphyrius churches serving as…