John Pontifex, Author at ZENIT

Articles By John Pontifex

Pakistan: sentence mother of 4 children to death on blasphemy charges

Shagufta was convicted under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, whereby insulting the Prophet carries a mandatory death sentence.

Sep 22, 2024 11:40

John Pontifex

Persecuted Christians

Pakistan: young Christian widow beaten in the countryside by Muslims after accusing her of blasphemy

Saima Farhad Gill, a widow, living in a village, near Gojra, in the Punjab, was saved by police and placed in custody after being charged under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws.

Aug 08, 2024 18:10

John Pontifex

Local Church•Testimonies

Jihadist-damaged crosses to join London exhibition

The crosses come from Chaldean and Syriac Catholic churches on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains which were targeted when the extremist group seized the region in Summer 2014.

Jul 10, 2024 16:07

John Pontifex

Islam•Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Pakistan: Desperate plea for Catholic man condemned to death

The Sahiwal Anti-Terrorism Court found Mr Ehsan guilty of blasphemy by allegedly sharing content deemed insulting to Islam and its prophet on social media.

Jul 03, 2024 11:17

John Pontifex

Local Church•Persecuted Christians•Testimonies

Proliferation of false accusations of blasphemy by Muslims against Christians, Catholic bishop calls for help from other countries

Bishop Samson Shukardin, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, said that, unless laws are passed making it an offence to fabricate allegations of blasphemy, Christians and other beleaguered minorities will never feel safe in their own country.

Jun 05, 2024 17:48

John Pontifex

Holy Land•Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Situation in Israel and Gaza raises fears of migration wave also in Iraq

The settling of old scores would jeopardize social cohesion throughout the region. The situation in Syria is not resolved, nor is it in Iraq. Prior to 2002, Iraq was home to more than 1.2 million Christians, but persecution, violence and poverty led to a mass emigration of Christians and Archbishop Warda said about 150,000 now remained.

Nov 03, 2023 00:08

John Pontifex

Persecuted Christians•Testimonies

Great witness of faith in Pakistan: parishioners gather for mass outside their burned church

“When we went in, local Muslims stopped and stared wide-eyed. They had very angry faces and began cursing us and using abusive language.”

Aug 21, 2023 21:08

John Pontifex

Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Pakistan: 21 churches razed to the ground, 1,000 Christians affected. Islamists attack images of Jesus and Mary

1,000 frightened and homeless Christians forced to sleep rough. Number of churches and chapels targeted rises to 21. Archbishop: Christians are ‘2nd class citizens to be terrorised at will’. Police act to enforce law and order

Aug 17, 2023 21:40

John Pontifex

Persecuted Christians

Christian released after 8 years in jail for unintentionally burning newspaper with Islamic phrases

Humayun Allahrakha (formerly known as Humayun Faisal Masih), now 32, was burning newspaper in Sanda, a town in Lahore district, in May 2015 when Muslim onlookers accused him of blasphemy, claiming that the papers contained verses of the Qur’an.

Apr 03, 2023 07:46

John Pontifex

Justice and Peace•Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Haiti: Second kidnapped priest released

Religious superior: ‘When will this spate of violence end?’.

Mar 26, 2023 04:05

John Pontifex

Local Church•Religious Freedom•Testimonies

King Charles III meets survivors of persecution

The King listened as Father Alfred Ebalu, a survivor of abduction, death threats and violence in Nigeria, highlighted growing persecution of Christians and others in Africa’s most populous country.

Dec 09, 2022 20:14

John Pontifex

Persecuted Christians