CNA Staff, May 20, 2024 / 15:14 pm
The United States Commission on International Freedom (USCIRF) named five new commissioners on Friday, including three Catholics active in a variety of advocacy groups, according to a May 17 press release.
Maureen Ferguson, Stephen Schneck, and Eric Ueland, all Catholics, were appointed to the USCIRF, a government organization that reviews violations of religious freedom around the world and makes policy recommendations to the executive branch and Congress.
Government restrictions on the practice of religion reached a new peak globally in 2021 while 55 countries (28% of the 198 countries reviewed) had “high” or “very high” levels of government restriction, according to a Pew 2024 report. In 2021, religious groups faced harassment by governments in 183 countries, the largest number since the study began.
USCIRF recently called on the Biden administration to address the growing religious persecution worldwide after releasing its 2024 annual report, which recommended naming 17 countries to the U.S. State Department’s list of “countries of particular concern” including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Nigeria, and Vietnam.