ICC Note: Somalia is among the top ten countries of Christian persecution in the World Watch list. The Islamic fighters of Al-Shabaab have carried out several brutal attacks against Christians in Kenya and Somalia as part of their holy war against the “infidels. “Additionally, there are only a few churches in the country and Christians are a minority group that usually hides and lives in constant fear.

10/26/2016 – Somalia (Crux Now) – According to the top Catholic in Somalia, a war-torn nation that’s one of the most dangerous places on the planet to be a Christian, “Even if work has to be done silently, it is better to be here than not be here.”

Bishop Giorgio Bertin, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Mogadishu, who has been in the region for almost 40 years, was hinting at the grave risks Christians face in the Horn of Africa.

There is only a single church in Somalia: St. Anthony of Padua in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region. Saying Mass has been and continues to be “very dangerous,” the bishop told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

Just last January, after the church had been boarded up for some 20 years, the bishop was able to re-consecrate the church, which now also serves as a base for humanitarian activities sponsored by Caritas.

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