Vatican City, Sep 14, 2016 / 01:09 am
Referencing the recent murder of French priest Fr. Jacques Hamel, Pope Francis said the persecution of Christians happening today, under any form, is a work of Satan.
"This cruelty that asks for apostasy, let's say the word, is satanic," the Pope said in a homily Sept. 14.
"Today in the church there are more Christian martyrs than in the first times. Today there are Christians who are assassinated, tortured, jailed, their throats are cut because they don't deny Jesus Christ," Francis stated.
Pope Francis' comments were made during an early morning Mass celebrated in memory of Fr. Jacques Hamel at Casa Santa Marta Wednesday.