Christians in Morocco have appealed to Pope Francis, asking for him to advocate against violations of religious freedom in their nation, according to a report Agenzia Fides.
The Catholic news agency reports that the appeal – from the Committee of Moroccan Christians – comes ahead of the Pope’s visit to the nation on 30th and 31st March. In an open letter published in a Moroccan newspaper, the committee have reported violations of their religious freedom and accused the country’s security forces of “playing an important role in the persecution of Christians by proceeding to make abusive arrests”.
The committee has said some Moroccan authorities have arrested or mistreated people for proclaiming their religion or taking part in prayer services at covert churches as well as torturing and insulting them and confiscating their identity documents, according to Fides. Authorities, they say, have also expelled hundreds of foreigners accused of “proselytism”.
Fides reports that while the committee acknowledge King Mohammed VI is undertaking initiatives to make Morocco a tolerant nation, “there are still many Moroccan officials who discriminate against Christians”.
