On the day after Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, the proto-martyr, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with persecuted Christians. He stated, “I stand with the Christian communities experiencing discrimination, and I encourage them to persevere in charity towards all, peacefully striving for justice and religious freedom.”

The recently published annual World Watch List, presented this week by Open Doors—an international advocacy organization dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians globally—reveals that more Christians encountered some form of persecution in 2023 than at any point in the past three decades.

Consistent with previous years, North Korea has emerged as the most inhospitable place for Christians worldwide. In this nation, Christians are deprived of the freedom to worship, and those discovered practicing their faith often confront the grim prospect of labor camps or even death. In 2023, North Korea intensified its border controls with the People’s Republic of China, exacerbating the challenges faced by Christians attempting to escape persecution.

During a press conference held in Rome, Timothy Cho, a North Korean dissident, shared his compelling testimony, shedding light on the harsh realities faced by Christians in the country.

Cho shared, “When I discovered my faith in God, that was when I realized, ‘Wow,’ the system North Korea used was a Biblical system, where they took out the word ‘God’ and replaced it with ‘Kim.’ So, they have a Trinity system inside North Korea: Leader, Party, State. So, it is the same structure as Christians and believers. We go to Church, and we confess to God.”

In 2023, there was a significant surge in attacks on churches and Christian properties, as reported on the watch list. More Christians experienced violent assaults, contributing to the increase in the number of countries with an “extreme level” of persecution from 11 to 13 compared to the previous report.

Asia and Africa witnessed the highest rates of persecution in 2023, affecting two out of every five Christians in Asia and one out of every five in Africa. Latin America followed, with a lower rate of one in sixteen, and notable countries on the list included Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Mexico.

Timothy Cho, who now campaigns for religious freedom in North Korea, urged Christians in the West not to stand silently and be complacent in the face of increased religious persecution.

Cho continued his story, “Persecution is the past, present, and future context. In each country, even Western societies, even the US, in your history, there have been persecutions, and the present context of persecution is now in these countries. We just heard how 360 million people are being persecuted simply for their faith, and North Korea, of course, my home country, is on top of this list. And the future, we don’t know. Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless; not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act.”

Adapted by Jacob Stein