After 121 cases of violence against priests and religious in 2024, the pontifical foundation Help the Church in Need (ACN) assured that being a Catholic priest today is “one of the most dangerous missions in the world.”
The compilation points to 13 murders, 37 kidnappings and 71 arrests during 2024. Ten of these incidents involved women, eight of whom were kidnapped and two arrested.
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The report complements that published by the Fides agency, the information agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMO), at the end of last year, which recorded the violent deaths of 14 missionaries and pastoral agents during the year, of which nine were priests. and five lay people, all men.
Murders, kidnappings and arrests
In Latin America, the pontifical foundation mentions cases of priests and religious murdered in the United States, where two homicides were recorded; in Spain, where a Franciscan died; and in Mexico and Venezuela, where a priest was murdered respectively.
Regarding kidnappings, ACN confirms an increase in the annual figure, compared to 2023, the year in which 33 Catholic priests and religious were kidnapped. Haiti is the country where the most kidnappings were recorded during 2024, a total of 18, a product of the chaos and violence unleashed by the free actions of various organized criminal groups. A case of kidnapping was reported in Colombia.
Furthermore, Nigeria remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to practice pastoral ministry, with 11 kidnappings reported during the year. The pontifical foundation noted that all the victims, in both countries, were released.
However, three priests were kidnapped in the African country in previous years, of whom there is still no news. The same occurs in Burkina Faso, with a case documented in 2019. “The inclusion of these priests would bring the total number of priests who had been kidnapped at some point in 2024 to 41,” explains ACN.
Likewise, the report mentions two catechists murdered in Burkina Faso, the murder of a Minister of the Word in Honduras and the death of an altar boy in Mexico, along with his mother and brother, although these cases are not added to the list of priests and religious.
Regarding the cases of detention, ACN reports that at least 71 clerics were arrested “due to their faith or for the mere fact of carrying out their religious mission throughout the year 2024.” Nicaragua tops the list in this section, as a result of the persecution that the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has undertaken against the Catholic Church.
The list in the Central American country, the pontifical foundation specifies, does not include numerous committed lay people who are behind bars. China follows in second place, with 9 cases of arrest. The list also mentions Venezuela, with a priest arrested in the framework of the presidential elections of July 2024.
Andres Henriquez
I have been a writer for ACI Prensa and a correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I have covered events in the Catholic Church in Venezuela and Latin America. I have more than 5 years of experience in bilingual media. Additionally, in Venezuela I have worked with non-governmental organizations in favor of freedom and respect for human rights in the country. I have been a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.