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Eritrea has expelled 13 Catholic missionaries for unclear reasons, reported a Catholic news agency this week.
The missionaries, including one Kenyan, were given 14 days to leave the country starting on Nov. 6, “reliable sources” confirmed with Catholic Information Service for Africa (CISA).
All those expelled, with the exception of one lay missionary, are Catholic priests or nuns. Two of the 13 missionaries are already outside of Eritrea for personal reasons, according to the Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA).
The reason behind the expulsion remains unclear, but CISA sources claim that the expulsion is part of a larger plot to destroy the Catholic Church in the country.
Eritrea, a small country in East Africa on the Red Sea, is one of the world’s worst persecutors of Christians. The government is highly suspicious of newer Christian movements such as the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches and frequently harasses their followers. A harsh crackdown began five years ago on all churches outside of the government-approved Orthodox, Catholic or Lutheran denominations.
However, Eritrea has recently cracked down on the Orthodox Church, which it previously had a close relationship with.
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The head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church – former Patriarch Abune Antonios, 80 – was illegally dismissed from his position in January 2006 after criticizing the government for interfering in church activities and for its persecution of evangelical churches, according to human rights group Amnesty International. For nearly two years he has been under stringent house arrest with little news heard about his condition in the past few months.
More than 90 percent of Eritreans belong to one of four recognized religions – Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran Churches and Islam.
Yet an estimated 2,000 Eritrean are members of unregistered “illegal” evangelical church groups that the Eritrean government has increasingly cracked down upon in recent years.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in May had again recommended that Eritrea be re-designated by the U.S. State Department as one of the 11 “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) for 2007. The State Department for three straight years has designated Eritrea as a CPC – the worst label for religious freedom violators.
