The attacks on Christians, especially in the Middle East, are seen by the president as "hatred for the Gospel of Christ", said Pence.
"Vice President Pence is undoubtedly deeply concerned about the plight of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, and his presence at the event was significant and meaningful", said Wussow, vice president for public policy of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).
America was, is, and will always be a shining city on a hill, he continued, where people throughout our history have been able to practice their faith openly and freely, he said. "In more than 100 countries spread to every corner of the globe - from Iran to Eritrea, Nigeria to North Korea - over 215 million Christians confront intimidation, imprisonment, forced conversion, abuse, assault, or worse, for holding to the truths of the Gospel".
He cited a Pew Center report that "nearly 80 percent of the human family lives in places where restrictions on religion are either "high" or 'very high, '" a one-year increase of 5 percent.
"Adherents of other religions across the world have not been spared [persecution]", he added, "and we will speak and pray for them, as well".
A Sudanese Christian shared his testimony by video in the opening session, recalling the hatred he had for his persecutors as they tortured him. "I want to be free". While it's not seen as politically correct, it is nonetheless greatly appreciated by those who are suffering persecution, as I have heard with my own ears. "It's about Jesus Christ". While Moscow made similar efforts during Soviet times, Russian President Vladimir Putin has rebranded post-Soviet Russia into the global standard bearer for "traditional values conservatism", and in this capacity attracts primarily right-wing fellow travelers. "One current example is our support of the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act".
According to a 1948 United Nations document, genocide "means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group" including killing, causing serious physical or mental harm, preventing births and kidnapping children.
The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has approved H.R. 390, which is also awaiting action by the House Judiciary Committee.
North Korea 'would hold talks' with Donald Trump 'under the right conditions'
It's the latest in a series of tests by Pyongyang as it pursues a nuclear-tipped missile that can reach the US mainland. He says the missile was not flying toward Japan and that the country did not launch a safety alert system.
However, his pledge comes as religious-freedom advocates have decried the absence of prominent administrative positions that promote religious freedom in USA foreign policy and advocate for persecuted religious minorities. Christopher Coons of DE joined Lankford as the lead Democratic sponsor of the measure.
The Lantos Foundation recently sent a letter to President Trump asking him to "move swiftly" and nominate an ambassador-at-large for worldwide religious freedom, as well as a special envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism.
"I am sure the number of Christians who are in prison or martyred each year would stagger our mind if we really knew what the total number really was".
"This threat to Rome was not just a threat to the Roman Catholic Church but to all Christians everywhere", Graham said.
Other speakers who addressed the audience on this occasion included, Metropolitan Tikhon, Bishop of the Orthodox Church in America, and Reverend Mouneer Hanna Anis, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Egypt.
"In Syria, the Christian population has plummeted from one-and-a-quarter million to only 500,000 in just the past six years", he said.
Graham was unavailable for comment on the Time article, a spokesman told Baptist Press. Graham urged his audience to call attention to the plight of the persecuted and demonstrate solidarity with those who suffer due to their faith.
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