Dear Friends of FIACONA, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has designated prayer for persecuted Christians in India during this Religious Freedom Week June 24-28, 2024. Christians in India have faced a four-fold increase in attacks since 2012. The USCCB stands with the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) in their call for support and awareness and has created an excellent Backgrounder: India - Tolerance Winning over Secularism? for us to share with others so they can also pray for Christians in India. The USCCB says, In the state of Manipur, the minority Christian population has been subjected to harassment and attacks by Hindu nationalists. Since May 2023, around 300 churches have been set on fire, and 100 other buildings belonging to Christian groups have been destroyed. Approximately 50,000 people have been displaced by these hostilities. Hate speech, particularly against Muslims, is on the rise, and violence against minorities occurs with impunity as police do little to protect those being persecuted and may even participate in the attacks. Incitement to violence escalated as the May 2024 elections approached. On Wednesday, June 26, FIACONA invites all Christians and churches to join our Catholic siblings, clergy, and parishes in prayer for the protection of all

Make a call during the Month of July to Members of Congress and say, "I support S 3764 -- USCIRF Reauthorization" Washington, DC Dear Friends and Board members of FIACONA, FIACONA is an active member of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable (IRF). On June 18-19th along with several other members of the IRF Congressional Working Group (CWG) we visited twelve U.S. Senate offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. We spoke with key Senator staff about the importance of the bipartisan United States Commission on International Freedom (USIRF) that on behalf of Congress advocates for human rights and religious freedom globally. We awarded certificates to Senators and their staff who received an "A" for supporting religious freedom. (A few photos are below) Why is this this urgent request? For four years USIRF has implored the U.S State Department to designate the Republic of India as a 'country of particular concern'. This request is based on the Indian government's record of systemic and patterned persecution of Christians and escalating refusal to secure human rights for religious minorities within the nation. When the government of India receives this designation the U.S State Department can shape meaningful polices toward India that include advocating for the human rights of persecuted Christians. What

The Power in Naming an Indigenous Survivor of State Abuse in India FIACONA and Assembly for Human Rights advocate for Adivasi farmers Neal Christie, Executive Director, FIACONA “Isn’t this the fast I choose: releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke, setting free the mistreated, and breaking every yoke? Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry, and bringing the homeless poor into your house, covering the naked when you see them, and not hiding from your own family?” (Isaiah 58:6-7). Imagine a world without farmers. Farmers are the backbone of our society and every economy. And yet 80% of the world’s hungry live in rural areas and are largely dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Approximately 50% are smallholder farmers cultivating marginal lands prone to natural disasters like drought or flood, 20% are landless families working on other people’s land, and 10% depend on herding, fishing or forest resources. Farmers and their livelihood as well as their well being are a bellwether for every nation. What would cause farmers, whose lives every life depends on, to take their own lives? It should appall us that, in India, farmers are killing themselves in record numbers. What is the primary cause? Let’s look at

Why Indian Christian Day? We have a marvelous opportunity to amplify the impact that Christians and their congregations, parishes, and ministries have made and continue to make as followers of Christ, both across the subcontinent of India and within our global community. I cannot imagine an India, or any nation, that has not benefited from the faith, sacrifice, and love shared over more than 2,000 years because of the prophetic life of Christ. Christianity as a movement was first introduced by St. Thomas and his companions in the southern region of the Indian subcontinent around 50 AD. These first Christian communities were established in Kerala in the first century, and some are still in existence today. Over the centuries, a tapestry of Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches took shape across India to worship, witness, and serve the good news to humanity. I believe that generationally, Indian Christian contributions in quality and quantity have exponentially transformed personal and social lives far beyond our numbers because we are called to see the image of God in one another—human flourishing comes when we cross boundaries of politics, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Why celebrate Indian Christian Day now? “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone