Persecution is the work of the devil, and while anti-Christian persecution is evident in many parts of the world, the devil also is attacking the image and likeness of God present in many other people as well, Pope Francis said.
“In the world today, Christians are not the only ones being persecuted; human beings, man and woman, are because the father of every persecution cannot tolerate that they are the image and likeness of God. So he attacks and destroys that image,” Francis said on June 1 during Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
“Cultural colonization,” or the pressure some nations place on others to accept practices that go against their own culture, is another form of persecution, the Pope said. Francis often has denounced the practice by which wealthy donor nations try to impose acceptance of abortion, contraception or liberal attitudes toward homosexuality and gay marriage on poorer countries as a condition for aid.
