I’ll have to post an extra Fun Friday tomorrow to make up for all the grim religion news this week, but the plight of Christians in the Middle East is important, especially at this time of year (once again):

• No Christmas festivities for some Iraqi Christians (Reuters)
• Christians senselessly tormented by extremists in Muslim world (CNN)
• Christians face rising persecution, experts say (CNN)

Fortunately, there’s still some hope, too:

• Turkey reaches out to Greek Christian minority (CNN)
• Bethlehem is still the centre of Christian spirituality, says minister (Christian Today)

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

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