by Jeffrey Cimmino – washingtonexaminer.com – September 11, 2019

Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said Christians are possibly facing the worst period of persecution in history and accused Western countries of failing to protect Christians because of a sense of guilt.

“There is more persecution of Christians now, arguably, than any time in the history of world, and the Christian faith is the most persecuted faith in the world by far,” Brownback said Tuesday night at a dinner hosted by In Defense of Christians, a nonprofit advocating for the protection of Christians in the Middle East. “And there are people being killed today because of their faith.”

“There’s a big guilt complex in a lot of the West that we shouldn’t be standing up for Christians, that somehow Christians are the biggest faith group around the world, and they’re big enough to take care of themselves, and they persecuted other people in different times in history, and so it’s kind of what goes around comes around, and it’s kind of their turn,” said Brownback.

“Well, no. Yes, Christians have done wrong things in the past and I repent for it. It was wrong. But that doesn’t make it right today,” Brownback said. “And it also doesn’t make it right that we shouldn’t stand up for people. We should stand up for all faiths, but that includes Christians as well and we shouldn’t be ashamed about it.”

Brownback referenced a British government report released earlier this year that found Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world. Then-foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who commissioned the report, said the “misguided political correctness that has stopped us standing up for Christians overseas must end.”

“At home we all benefit from living in a tolerant, diverse society and we should not be afraid of promoting those values abroad,” Hunt said. “It is a sad fact that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in modern times. I am determined to show that we are on their side.”

The report found about one-third of the world’s population faces religious persecution, and 80% of those suffering persecution are Christians. The report also found “acts of violence and other intimidation against Christians are becoming more widespread,” noting that the scale of violence approached or reached genocide-levels in parts of the Middle East and Africa.

Brownback assumed his current role in February 2018. He previously was a Republican governor of Kansas and a United States senator. Brownback is a Catholic convert from evangelical Christianity.

To see this article and others from the Washington Examiner, click read more.

Source: Trump religion envoy blames ‘guilt complex’ for Western reluctance to protect Christians