Adults from Afghanistan and Iran will soon be baptized as Catholics in Austria’s Vienna archdiocese. 11 people are from Afghanistan among the 27 adults. The candidates for adult baptism are formally welcomed by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna.
“Being a Christian imparts a hope that is greater than the problems and crises of this world and also greater than the personal blows of fate that some of you have already experienced,” said Cardinal Christoph Schonborn. Among the 11 Afghans, there are six Iranians and four Austrians who should be baptized. The majority of the catechumens are male between the ages of 20 and 40. Afghanistan is the second-worst country in the world facing a higher level of Christian persecution and Iran is the eighth country according to the World Watch List prepared by the organization Open Doors.