Online text: “The Crimes of the Communist Regime in Hungary”, by János M. Rainer

See this online text:

• “The Crimes of the Communist Regime in Hungary: National Report”, compiled by János M. Rainer. Available in pdf format at the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.
• This text forms part of a larger work, Crimes of the Communist Regimes: Proceedings of an International Conference Held in Prague, 24-26 February 2010, by Jiří Liška et al., edited by David Svoboda and Cóílín O’Connor, translated by Cóílín O’Connor et al. (Prague: Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, 2011), which has been made available in pdf format at the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.

See also the following ebooks previously posted in the Project:

• Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania (Translation of Authentic First-Hand Reports from Soviet-Occupied Lithuania), No. 10: Struggle for Survival (Maspeth, Long Island, New York: The Lithuanian Roman Catholic Priests’ League). With a letter to the Lithuanian people from Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty dated “75 02 22” or 22 February 1975, which only appears on the pdf copy. May be read online on this page and available in pdf format on this page at Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. [N.B., The title of the Chronicle in Lithuanian appears to be Lietuvos Katalikų Bažnyčios Kronika]
• Mindszenty Report, Vol. XLVII, No.10 (October 2005), “The City of God: Cultural Conflict in a World of Contradiction”. Available in PDF format on this page of the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation.
• Nonviolent Resistance in Lithuania: A Story of Peaceful Liberation, by Grazina Miniotaite. Available in PDF format at the Albert Einstein Institution.

In solidarity with the observance of the Memorial Day for the Victims of the Communist Dictatorships in Hungary. For other texts relating to the persecution perpetrated under Communism, see Part II. Historical Persecution: Attacks on the Church and the Faithful: Under Communism of our index page Anti-Catholicism and Persecution. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“The Church of Silence will never understand the kind of diplomacy which would make it possible for the atheists to rejoice over the fact that the Vatican itself disagrees with those priests and laity who are struggling and suffering for the Fai[t]h. In return for diplomatic concessoins [sic], the atheistic government can promise much, sign the most beautiful treaties, but these will remain a dead letter, like the Declaration of Human Rights, which the atheistic government signed.” (Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, No. 10)

“Your nation now faces probably the hardest ordeal of its history. Do not lose heart. Injustice, wrong and crime will never be transformed into justice, right and blessings merely by the fact that a long interval has elapsed. Have confidence, pray and renew yourselves spiritually and your country and your nation will be restored to freedom and dignity. Do not hate; the more and better we pray for our persecutors, the sooner will their hearts be converted to what we pray for.” (Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty, Letter to the Lithuanian People, 1975)

Online text: “The Martyrs of Mexico and Their Influence in the New Evangelization”, by Ricardo Ramirez

See this online text:

• “The Martyrs of Mexico and Their Influence in the New Evangelization”, by Ricardo Ramirez, C.S.B. Talk delivered at the XXIII ANSH Convention, October 8, 2012. Available in pdf format at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces.

On the Feast of Saint Margarito Flores García. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“At times the bark of Peter, favored by the winds, goes happily forward; at other times it appears to be swallowed up by the waves and on the point of being lost. Has not this ship always aboard the Divine Pilot who knows when to calm the angry waves and the winds? And who is it but Christ Himself Who alone is all-powerful, who brings it about that every persecution which is launched against the faithful should react to the lasting benefit of the Church?” (Pope Pius XI, Encyclical “Iniquis Allictisque“)

Free ebooks: “The Arians of the Fourth Century”, by Cardinal Newman (various editions)

See these legally free ebooks:

• The Arians of the Fourth Century: Their Doctrine, Temper, and Conduct, Chiefly as Exhibited in the Councils of the Church, between A.D. 325, & A.D. 381, 2^nd edition, by Blessed John Henry Newman (E. Lumley, 1854). May be read online, and available in various formats (pdf, epu, mobi/kindle, etc.), at Open Library and Internet Archive, with a second copy at Open Library and Internet Archive, and another copy at Hathi Trust Digital Library.
  • The 1^st edition of the same title (London: J. & F. Rivington, 1833), written before Blessed Newman was converted to the one true and Catholic faith, is available at Internet Archive and Open Library, with a second copy at Internet Archive and Open Library, and a third copy at Internet Archive and Open Library, and a fourth copy at Open Library and Internet Archive; and it may be read online at e-Catholic 2000.
• Subsequent editions have the shorter title, The Arians of the Fourth Century:
  • The 3^rd edition (London: E. Lumley, 1871) is available at Internet Archive and Open Library, with a second copy at Open Library and Internet Archive, and at Hathi Trust Digital Library.
  • The 4^th edition (London: Basil Montague Pickering, 1876) is available at Hathi Trust Digital Library.
  • An edition “Printed for Private Circulation Only”, as stated in the copyright page (London, 1871) is available at Open Library and Internet Archive.
  • The 5^th edition (London, New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1888) is available at Open Library and Internet Archive, with another impression (London: Pickering and Co., 1883) available at Open Library.
  • The 6^th edition (London, New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1890) is available at Internet Archive and Open Library, with a second copy at Internet Archive.
  • The 7^th edition (London, New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1890) is available at Open Library and Internet Archive, with a second copy at Internet Archive, and a third copy at Internet Archive; and at Hathi Trust Digital Library and Google Books.
  • A “New Edition” (London, New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1891) is available at Open Library and Internet Archive, and at Hathi Trust Digital Library.
  • A “new impression” (London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1897) is available at Open Library and Internet Archive.
  • A subsequent impression (London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1901) is available at Internet Archive and Open Library.
  • A later impression (London, New York, Bombay, Calcutta: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1908) is available at Open Library and Internet Archive, and may be read online at Newman Reader (revised September 2002).
  • An even later impression (London, New York, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1919) may be read online, and is available in various formats (pdf, epu, mobi/kindle, etc.) at Open Library and Internet Archive.
• The work is also available for purchase:
  • An ebook of an unknown edition may be purchased at Google Books.
  • The Birmingham Oratory Millennium Edition, in hardback format, may be purchased at the Catholic Truth Society Bookshop. [N.B., With introduction and notes by Dr. Rowan Williams, a noteworthy but non-Catholic scholar and formerly the seniormost ecclesiastic in the Anglican communion. We have not read the work and hence cannot suggest whether Catholic Christian readers, especially those without sufficient theological formation, should avoid reading the said introduction and notes or should read them with prayerful caution.]

On the anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (ended 19 June AD 325).

“But some one will ask, How is it then, that certain excellent persons, and of position in the Church, are often permitted by God to preach novel doctrines to Catholics?… Let us listen, then, to Holy Moses… [who] writes thus in Deuteronomy… For the Lord, your God, tries you, to know whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. The reason is clearer than day why Divine Providence sometimes permits certain doctors of the Churches to preach new doctrines — That the Lord your God may try you” (Saint Vincent of Lerins, Commonitory For the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies, x)

 

 

Online & worth-it ebook: “Fatima: A Message More Urgent Than Ever”, by Luiz Sérgio Solimeo

See this online and worth-it ebook:

• Fatima: A Message More Urgent Than Ever, by Luiz Sérgio Solimeo (Spring Grove, Penn.: American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property – TFP, 2008). The ebook is available in pdf format (on this page) and may be read online (on this page) at the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. It may also be purchased on this page.

On the Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Online text: Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, 10: Struggle for Survival

See this online text:

• Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania (Translation of Authentic First-Hand Reports from Soviet-Occupied Lithuania), No. 10: Struggle for Survival (Maspeth, Long Island, New York: The Lithuanian Roman Catholic Priests’ League). With a letter to the Lithuanian people from Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty dated “75 02 22” or 22 February 1975, which only appears on the pdf copy. May be read online on this page and available in pdf format on this page at Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. [N.B., The title of the Chronicle in Lithuanian appears to be Lietuvos Katalikų Bažnyčios Kronika]

Bishop Motiejus Valančius. Image from Wikipedia

On the Feast of St. Hilarius of Aquileia and St. Julian of Antioch; and in observance of Knygnešio diena, or the Day of the Book Smugglers, in Lithuania. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

From page 12 of the text:

“The atheists, taking a page out of the Czars’ book, wish to use ecclesiastical leadership in their war against the Catholic Church. They try to place in responsible positions bishops cr [sic] priests submissive to the government, who would carry out directives detrimental to the Church, misinform the faithful world-wide about so-called freedom [sic] of the Church, and promulgate the regulations of the atheists government among the priests, to restrict the priests’ work: the catechizing of children, canonical visitation of parishes, etc.

“The Church of Silence will never understand the kind of diplomacy which would make it possible for the atheists to rejoice over the fact that the Vatican itself disagrees with those priests and laity who are struggling and suffering for the Fai[t]h. In return for diplomatic concessoins [sic], the atheistic government can promise much, sign the most beautiful treaties, but these will remain a dead letter, like the Declaration of Human Rights, which the atheistic government signed.”

From the letter of Cardinal Mindszenty to the Lithuanian people (on page 3 of the text):

“You are one of the oldest nations on European soil and firmly rooted in the Faith and in the Church of Christ… [Y]ou have lived through glorious times and—more important—through times of persecution and suffering. Your nation now faces probably the hardest ordeal of its history. Do not lose heart. Injustice, wrong and crime will never be transformed into justice, right and blessings merely by the fact that a long interval has elapsed. Have confidence, pray and renew yourselves spiritually and your country and your nation will be restored to freedom and dignity. Do not hate; the more and better we pray for our persecutors, the sooner will their hearts be converted to what we pray for.”

Online text: Letter to Catholics in China, by Pope Benedict XVI

See this online text:

• Letter to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China, by Pope Benedict XVI, 27 May 2007. Available at the Holy See.
  • An “Explanatory Note: Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Chinese Catholics, 27 May 2007” (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2007) is available at the Holy See and on this page through the Focus: China page of Sandro Magister’s former website.
  • A “Compendium of the Letter of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China”, which reproduces the letter in question-and-answer format, is available in pdf format at the Holy See.
• For a Chinese Catholic perspective on the letter, see:
  • “Cardinal Zen on Pope’s China Letter”, by Cardinal Joseph Zen Zi-kiun, 1 July 2007, at Catholic Culture.
  • “Card. Zen: It is time to put into effect the Popes Letter to China’s Catholics, whatever the cost”, 16 June 2009, at AsiaNews.
  • “Card. Zen: Do not manipulate Pope Benedict XVI’s Letter”, by Cardinal Zen, 6 February 2018 at AsiaNews.
  • “A decade on from Pope Benedict’s letter to Chinese Catholics”, 17 February 2018, at the Sunday Examiner.

For those studying the current debate and developments concerning Church-State relations in China, the news and analyses listed below may be relevant. [N.B., Please note that the inclusion of any article in the list, in which various sides of the debate are represented, does not necessarily imply agreement or endorsement.]

• “Msgr. Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou freed after 7 months”, 4 January 2018 at AsiaNews.
• “The Vatican asks legitimate bishops to step aside in favour of illegitimate ones”, by John Baptist Lin, 22 January 2018, at AsiaNews.
• “Underground Church as a pawn in China’s political game, a thorn in the side of the Holy See”, 25 January 2018, at AsiaNews.
• “Vatican, Eager for China Ties, Asks ‘Underground’ Bishops to Step Aside”, 29 January 2018, at the New York Times.
• “Pope ‘prefers to avoid support for dissident clergymen’ says former Hong Kong cardinal after Vatican asks Chinese bishops to stand down”, 29 January 2018 at South China Morning Post
• “Zen on the bishops of Shantou and Mindong” by Cardinal Zen, 29 January 2018, at AsiaNews.
• “Explaining why the Vatican seems so eager for a deal with China” by John L. Allen Jr., 30 January 2018 at Crux.
• “Vatican denies rift between pope, collaborators on China” by Charles Collins, 30 January 2018 at Crux.
• “Vatican and China: Cardinal Zen’s intervention raises some very uncomfortable questions”, by Michael Davis, 30 January 2018, at Catholic Herald.
• “Parolin, ‘Why we are in dialogue with China’”, 31 January 2018 at La Stampa.
• “Parolin: No person can claim to be “exclusive interpreter” for Chinese Catholics“, 31 January 2018 at Crux.
• “Celebrations as Msgr. Shao Zhumin returns to Wenzhou (Video)”. 31 January 2018, at AsiaNews.
• “Vatican rebukes retired Hong Kong cardinal after remarks on ‘selling out’ of Chinese Catholics”, 31 January 2018 at South China Morning Post.
• “The tears of Chinese bishops. A portrait of Msgr. Zhuang, bishop of Shantou” by Padre Pietro, 2 February 2018, at AsiaNews.
• “Chinese Bishops Illegitimate, Official, Clandestine… Which Ones Francis Is Rewarding and Which He Is Not”, by Sandro Magister, 5 February 2018 at Settimo Cielo.
• “Zen: ‘The Vatican Secretary of State Is Wrong’”, by Sandro Magister, 6 February 2018 at Settimo Cielo.
• “‘China is the best implementer of Catholic social doctrine,’ says Vatican bishop”, 6 February 2018 at Catholic Herald.
• “Cardinal Zen accuses Vatican of ‘caging’ loyal Catholics in China”, by Charles Collins, 6 February 2018 at Crux.
• “Sanchez Sorondo in Wonderland”, by Bernardo Cervellera, 7 February 2018, at AsiaNews.it.
• “China expert: Vatican official “naive” for saying China “best implementer” of Church’s social doctrine”, by Charles Collins, 7 February 2018 at Crux.
• “Worries Rise as Pope and China Edge Closer to Deal on Bishops”, 9 February 2018, at the New York Times.
• “The future of the Sino-Vatican dialogue from an ecclesiological point of view”, by John Cardinal Tong, 10 February 2018 at the Sunday Examiner. [N.B., Although the article merits reading for its prudential/policy argument, readers are cautioned concerning some statements that may be problematic, namely:
  • The article’s claim that, unlike “the freedom for the pope to appoint bishops”, “lack of the ways to spread the faith” will not “cause great harm to the nature of the Catholic Church”, which appears to disregard the essential and divinely ordained character of the missionary mandate of the Church qua Church (cf. Matthew xxviii, 19-20, and Redemporis missio, 46); and
  • Its assertion that “the moral principle of the Church teaches us to choose the lesser of two evils”, which may have meant merely that we may “tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good” (Veritatis splendor, 80, italics supplied; cf. Matthew xvii, 24-26 and S.T., 1a 1ae, q.96, a.2), but whose unhappy formulation is inconsistent with the norm that we may not do evil even as a means to achieving good (cf. Romans iii, 8 and Veritatis splendor, 80.]
• “Holy See-China accord in the offing but at what cost?”, 10 February 2018 at Sunday Examiner.
• “Chinese Church preparing to celebrate 60th anniversary of ‘independent’ episcopal ordinations”, by Li Zhao, 10 February 2018, at AsiaNews.
• “The China Invented by Bishop Sánchez Sorondo. His Diary From Half a Century Ago Has Been Discovered”, by Sandro Magister, 10 February 2018 at Settimo Cielo.
• “In praise of China’s outspoken cardinal”, by Fr. Raymond De Souza, 11 February 2018, at Catholic Herald.
• “Catholic Bishop Says He’s Willing to Step Down for Vatican Deal With Beijing“, 11 February 2018, at the New York Times.
• “Hong Kong Catholics to the bishops of the world: Stop the possible agreement between China and the Holy See“, 12 February 2018, at AsiaNews.
• “Zen: I still don’t understand why they are in dialogue with China” by Joseph Cardinal Zen, 13 February 2018, at AsiaNews.it.
• “Vatican deal with China moves closer“, 13 February 2018 at Catholic News Asia.
• “Cardinal Zen to Pope on China: ‘You’re Putting Wolves Before Your Flock,’ Will ‘Make a Massacre’”, 14 February 2018, at CNS News.
• “Breaking the trust”, by Francesco Sisci and Francesco Strazzari, 15 February 2018, at Catholic News Asia.
• “Beijing-Vatican deal not normal: Zen rebuts Kelly”, 16 February 2018, at Catholic News Asia.
• “Chinese Catholics will not gain freedom from a Vatican-China deal”, 16 February 2018, at Catholic News Asia.
• “Cardinal Zen: I Fear the Vatican’s Ostpolitik With Communist China”, 17 February 2017, at the National Catholic Register.

On the Memorial of Saint Martin Wu Xuesheng and Companions in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (calendar of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan). For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“If, after all, you should have to suffer in the cause of right, yours is a blessed lot. Do not be afraid or disturbed at their threats; enthrone Christ as Lord in your hearts. If anyone asks you to give an account of the hope which you cherish, be ready at all times to answer for it, but courteously and with due reverence. What matters is that you should have a clear conscience; so the defamers of your holy life in Christ will be disappointed in their calumny. It may be God’s will that we should suffer for doing right; better that, than for doing wrong.” (I Peter iii, 14-17)

Online lecture: “Christian Martyrdom in the Thought of the Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon”, by Cardinal Burke (updated)

See this online lecture:

• “Christian Martyrdom in the Thought of the Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J.” (lecture), by Raymond Cardinal Burke. Delivered 13 March 2012, at the 15th Annual Lenten Symposium on “The Christian Vocation: A Call to Martyrdom” of the Holy Trinity Apostolate.
  • A video of the lecture, entitled, Cardinal Burke on Fr John Hardon’s ‘Call to Martydom’, published on 12 March 2013, may be viewed on this page of the Youtube channel of Sensus Fidelium.
  • Another copy of the same video, entitled Call to Martyrdom talk by Cardinal Burke, published on 22 February 2013, may be viewed on this page of the wwwtldmorg Youtube channel.
  • The audio of the lecture is reproduced in a video entitled Cardinal Raymond Burke 2017 – Call to Martyrdom talk by Cardinal Burke, published 21 July 2017, which may be viewed on this page of the Catholic Channel.
  • According to the article “Cardinal Burke’s address from HTA symposium to air on EWTN this Sunday”, posted 22 March 2012, CD’s and DVD’s on all talks may be purchased at the Holy Trinity Apostolate.

Still from the Youtube video

On the Feast of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, and in advance of the Feast of Saint Thomas Becket (29 December), in the Roman Rite. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“[W]hoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven; and whoever disowns me before men, before my Father in heaven I too will disown him” (Matthew x, 32-33)

“Although not every Cardinal will be called to give his life in red martyrdom for the sake of the Church and, above all, for the sake of the exercise of the ministry of the Vicar of Christ on earth, he is called daily to be intrepid, to give his life in white martyrdom, steadfastly and courageously defending the Catholic Church and her holy faith in the care of Saint Peter and his successors…

“The Cardinal today is called, in a special way, to assist the Roman Pontiff in announcing all of the truths of the faith, but, in a particular way, the truth regarding the natural moral law to be observed for the good of all in society…

“The Cardinal today is called, in a special way, to assist the Successor of Saint Peter, in handing on, in an unbroken organic line, what Christ Himself has given us in the Church, His Eucharistic Sacrifice… The right order of Sacred Worship in the Church is the condition of the possibility of the right order of her teaching and the right order of her conduct.” (Homily of Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, 22 November 2010)

Online text: “Religious Freedom in the World Report – 2016”

See this online text:

• Religious Freedom in the World Report – 2016, by John Pontifex, editor-in-chief, with a Foreword by Father Jacques Mourad (Surrey: Aid to the Church in Need, 2016) published on 24 November 2016). Available through this page of Religious Freedom in the World Report – 2016, with the Executive Summary on this page. Published by Aid to the Church in Need – United Kingdom.

In observance of Red Wednesday and in solidarity with persecuted Christians worldwide; and in advance of the Memorial of Blessed Miguel Pro, S.J. For other ebooks on the oppression of Christians, particularly Christians of the one true Church, see our page “Anti-Catholic Persecution“. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject). 

“Of the 23 countries that showed high levels of persecution… In 16 countries the persecution was linked to extremist Islam… In 6 of the remaining countries the persecution was attributed to authoritarian regimes… And in 1 country – India – the persecution was linked to Hindu extremists.

“In addition, faith groups in the West have experienced increasing hostility and pressure in a society where secularism and atheism have gained prominence. In this region of the world, there has been a growth in acts of hatred and institutional intolerance towards religious groups and the values they uphold.”

(As summarized on the home page of Religious Freedom in the World Report – 2016, paragraph break supplied)

Free ebook: “A History of the Somerset Carthusians”, by E. Margaret Thompson

See this legally free ebook:

• A History of the Somerset Carthusians, by E. Margaret Thompson, with illustrations by L. Beatrice Thompson (London: John Hodges, 1895). May be read online, and available in various formats (pdf, epub, kindle/mobi, text, etc.) at Internet Archive.

On the Feast of Saint Bruno of Cologne in the Roman Rite. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject). Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints!

Online text: “Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith 2013–15”

See this online text:

• Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith 2013–15, compiled by John Pontifex, John Newton, and Clare Creegan, with additional research by Michael J. Robinson and assistance from Tony Smith, Tony Cotton, etc. (Surrey: Aid to the Church in Need, 2015). With a Foreword by Melkite Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo, Syria. Available in PDF format on this page of Aid to the Church in Need Australia.
• The Executive Summary is available at Issuu (linked  by this page of Aid to the Church in Need), and the report’s Principal Findings are available on this page of Aid to the Church in Need United Kindom, with highlights on this page. A summary may be found at Vatican Radio.
• The earlier report is indexed on this page of the Catholic eBooks Project: Online text: “Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for Their Faith 2011-2013”.

Cropped from image from Wikipedia

On the Feast of Saint John Matha (in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite). For other ebooks on the oppression of Christians, particularly Christians of the one true Church, see our page “Anti-Catholic Persecution“. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject). 

“Of the 23 countries that showed high levels of persecution… In 16 countries the persecution was linked to extremist Islam… In 6 of the remaining countries the persecution was attributed to authoritarian regimes… And in 1 country – India – the persecution was linked to Hindu extremists. In addition, faith groups in the West have experienced increasing hostility and pressure in a society where secularism and atheism have gained prominence. In this region of the world, there has been a growth in acts of hatred and institutional intolerance towards religious groups and the values they uphold.” (From the home page of Religious Freedom in the World Report – 2016)