Pope Francis expresses great concern at growing attacks on religious freedom, after receiving ACN report . The Holy Father thanked ACN for its report which points to a decrease in religious freedom, and said he is praying for all those who are persecuted for their faith.

Pope Francis was given a copy of the Religious Freedom in the World Report for 2023, published by the international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), and expressed concern regarding the growing number of attacks on religious freedom on the five continents. The Pope also promised to continue to pray for all those who are persecuted for their faith, which according to the report accounts for billions of people.

The summary of the report was handed to Pope Francis by Marcela Szymanski, Head of International Advocacy for ACN International, on 24 August, in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, upon which, during the brief handover, he stated, "this is very important, very important". The brief meeting took place during the annual conference of the International Catholic Legislator’s Network (ICLN), which saw over 100 politicians gather from across the world to debate Catholic perspectives on growing tension and armed conflict currently taking place.

The main conclusions of the Religious Freedom in the World Report for 2023 show that religious persecution has increased in recent years, and that attacks on religious freedom increasingly go unpunished. Religious freedom is violated in 61 of the world’s 196 countries, affecting over 62% of the global population, or almost 4.9 billion people. Africa, where almost half the countries (40%) suffer high levels of persecution, is where religious freedom has receded most.

Pope Francis has spoken frequently about religious freedom and the persecution of Christians. On 8 January 2024, during his annual meeting with diplomats accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis called for an end to religiously motivated violence and declared that “the path to peace also passes through interreligious dialogue, which before all else requires the protection of religious freedom and respect for minorities”.

“Equally troubling,” he added, “is the increase in persecution and discrimination against Christians”.

The Religious Freedom in the World Report analyses the global situation for this fundamental right in all countries, and for all religions, as recognised by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the only report of its kind published by a non-governmental organisation.

The report has been published by ACN since 1999 every two years, and is written by independent experts, university research teams and research centres on different continents. It is made up of more than 700 pages and is available in six languages: German, Spanish, French, English, Italian and Portuguese. The Religious Freedom Report editorial team is already working on the next report, which will be published in 2025.