Latin America: Recent examples of intolerance targeting Christians

Opposition to traditional Christian faith and values would seem to be rising in Latin American society. The following examples are taken from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Honduras.

• Argentina: Church Militant reported on 20 November 2019 that a trans-activist sued the Archbishop of Salta for refusing to change his name on baptismal and confirmation records. The Argentinian court dismissed the case saying it is a religious matter; later an appeals court affirmed the dismissal and now the activist intends taking the case to the country"s Supreme Court.
• Brazil: As reported by The Guardian on 9 January 2020, the Netflix streaming of the movie "The First Temptation of Christ" depicting Jesus as homosexual, was halted after being challenged in court by the Don Bosco Centre of Faith and Culture Association. Although the creators of the film based their defense on their right to freedom of expression, the judge indicated that the right to freedom of expression, press and art is not absolute. The film is only be withdrawn until a final decision is made by a higher court.
• Colombia: Aciprensa reported on 11 February 2020 that a Christian father could not prevent the mother aborting their unborn child after almost 8 months pregnancy. He requested a precautionary measure to prevent the procedure, but it was rejected. The abortion was carried out under the authority of the local family planning association named "Profamilia". The father is now asking the institution that carried out the abortion to give him the body of his child for Christian burial, but has so far received no answer, according to the Life Site news platform reporting on 14 February 2020.
• Honduras: According to a report by La Prensa on 19 December 2019, the Catholic Church of Sorrows in Tegucigalpa was vandalized by LGBTI activists. Large LGBTI flags were painted on either side of the main entrance headed by the phrases "Love is free" and "God is love". In a similar event, on November 2019, Cholusat Sur reported on 18 November 2019 that activists had painted the steps in front of the Tegucigalpa Metropolitan Cathedral with the colors of the LGBTI flag.

Rossana Ramirez, persecution analyst at World Watch Research (WWR), comments: "In various countries in the region it has become increasingly evident that ideological pressure groups and their supporters are trying to impose their particular beliefs on society by opposing traditional values, especially those held by Christians. Instead of discussing matters peacefully, activists seem to be trying to normalize the use of insults and offensive action towards their opponents under the umbrella of freedom of expression. The LGBTI pressure groups in particular seem determined for churches to give up tenets of Christian faith to accommodate their views and have learnt to take advantage of the anti-discrimination laws to legitimize violations of religious freedom. Christians find they do not always have effective means at their disposal to enforce their rights. Even if the authorities do step in to protect Christian rights, social pressure and/or higher courts can quickly reverse any rulings, thus causing great uncertainty for churches and church leaders."