Senate Committee Chair Gasparri to Push Bipartisan Resolution on Christian Persecution
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Maurizio Gasparri, is preparing a unanimous resolution on religious freedom for Christian minorities worldwide, following the hearing with Vatican Secretary Paul Richard Gallagher.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Maurizio Gasparri, has announced that the committee will present a bipartisan resolution on the persecution of Christians around the world, hoping for unanimous approval. The announcement came at the end of the hearing with Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Vatican City State, as part of the fact-finding inquiry into religious freedom for Christian minorities.
Gasparri explained that the text will be drafted by him together with Senator Graziano Del Rio and will take into account the guidance gathered in the hearings already held, including that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that of Director General Cecilia Piccioni, and Gallagher's observations. Further meetings with associations committed to countering the discrimination of Christians are planned in the coming weeks. "We want to pass this resolution quickly to send a signal of attention and commitment from Parliament," Gasparri told Adnkronos, stressing the desire for a shared path among the political forces.
In his remarks, the chairman recalled that the fact-finding inquiry had been launched by the committee on June 11, with the hearing of Director General Cecilia Piccioni, with the aim of offering a reflection on the need to guarantee religious freedom as a fundamental human right. Gasparri described the issue as a constant concern on the international agenda which, in his view, is nonetheless particularly underestimated.
According to data cited by the chairman, in 2025 persecution against Christian communities caused around 5,000 victims, in a framework of growing violence in numerous countries. Gasparri also referred to estimates by the organization Open Doors, according to which more than 388 million Christians worldwide suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination because of their faith.
The chairman also identified as Parliament's task the constant monitoring of the phenomenon, so that anti-Christian hostility is not ignored and to counter the exodus of entire communities of believers from their areas of residence. At the same time, he argued for the need to promote religious freedom and to guarantee spaces for interreligious dialogue, described as "an indispensable tool for the peaceful coexistence of different faiths."
The meeting with Gallagher was also attended by Monsignor Massimiliano Matteo Boiardi, Papal Master of Ceremonies responsible for Italy and the European Union, Monsignor Joseph Grech, responsible for persecution against Christians, and Francesco Di Nitto, Ambassador of Italy to the Holy See.
Source: adnkronos.com
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