For the first month of 2022, Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for those facing religious discrimination and persecution.
The Pope called religious persecution “inhuman” and “insane, ” in a video released 4 January.
“Let us pray that those who suffer discrimination and suffer religious persecution may find in the societies in which they live the rights and dignity that comes from being brothers and sisters,” he said.
The video showed the scenes of destroyed churches and clips from Pope Francis’ March 2021 trip to Iraq, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.
Pope Francis’ appeal came amid reports of rising persecution of Christians around the world.