In February 1984, John Paul II suspended ad divinis the three ... The prelate said that “we are already beginning to be a persecuted Church.” Shortly after, the Catholic Church agreed to ...

In a letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul writes, “For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am ...

This idea directly contradicts the New Testament, where Paul states ... were pressured to convert to Christianity or face persecution. Church-Sanctioned Discrimination – The church enforced ...

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Upon his election in 1978, John Paul was asked about what his papacy would mean for the “Church of Silence,” as the persecuted Christians under Soviet domination had come to be called.

those Catholic communities with origins in the Mideast and eastern Europe that have been decimated by years of conflict and persecution. "The church needs you!" Leo told a Holy Year audience of ...