As the United States marks International Religious Freedom Day Sunday, we confront yet another year of intense, widespread religious persecution around the globe. People of faith, including Catholics, have been the object of egregious attacks in Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Cuba and, of course, China.  

The situation would be even worse, however, if some prominent U.S. Catholics weren't working flat-out to promote religious freedom and to draw attention to its suppression. 

Oct. 27 commemorates the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), a landmark bipartisan law passed almost unanimously, signed into law by President Bill Clinton and amended in 2016 to further bolster religious freedom as a foreign policy priority. As part of the IRFA, two key watchdogs were established within the federal government. The first, the Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF) in the State Department, is led by an IRF ambassador-at-large. In 1999, Tom Farr, president emeritus of the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI), became the first director of this office. 

A Catholic convert, Farr is a leading authority on international religious freedom; he serves as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and as a member of the advisory council for the Human Rights Program at The Catholic University of America. Farr will be awarded RFI’s Defender of Religious Freedom Award, given to “a person who defends religious freedom for everyone, everywhere from within his or her faith tradition," at the group’s annual dinner Nov. 13 in Washington, D.C. 

The second body established by IRFA is the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal government agency with nine commissioners that “monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad; makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress; and tracks the implementation of these recommendations.” 

The current chairman of USCIRF is Stephen Schneck, who retired from The Catholic University in 2018 after more than 30 years as a professor, department chairman and dean, and is a well-known advocate for Catholic social justice teachings in public life. 

Joining Schneck this year on the USCIRF is another impressive Catholic leader, Maureen Ferguson. Among her many prominent roles, Ferguson has been a longtime member of the board of directors of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, serves on the advisory committee for the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame and on the advisory board of The Belmont House, an initiative of Belmont Abbey College, and was a senior fellow with The Catholic Association, where she and I worked closely together. 

In addition to these experts working to advance international religious freedom in official capacities are several other Catholics who speak powerfully on behalf of the persecuted.  Sam Brownback, for example, is a Catholic convert and former U.S. senator and governor of Kansas. He held the IRF ambassadorship during the Trump administration. Brownback made sure that religious freedom informed how the United States addressed the brutal assault on the Yazidis and Christians in the Middle East; advocated for the Rohingya in Myanmar and denounced China’s treatment of the Uyghur people.  

Brownback’s insight was welcomed at the White House and by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He is credited with helping to ensure that aid went to churches and other people on the ground who could direct it effectively. He also spearheaded two “ministerials” (high-level State Department conferences) on international religious freedom. After leaving his government position, Brownback has continued his advocacy, serving as co-chairman of the International Religious Freedom Summit and chairman of the National Committee for Religious Freedom. 

Another Catholic leader is Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom. Shea previously served as a commissioner for USCIRF from 1999 through 2012. Shea stands up for the persecuted — whether they are Nigerian Christians whose plight is ludicrously being attributed to climate change or those faithful Catholic bishops in China whose repression seems to be overlooked by the Holy See and its diplomats. 

Then there is Bill McGurn, columnist at The Wall Street Journal, who has shown steadfast concern for Hong Kong businessman and Catholic convert Jimmy Lai, who awaits trial on trumped-up charges of violating China's national security. Prison officials have banned priests from bringing Lai Holy Communion as he languishes in jail. McGurn, Lai’s godfather, uses his perch to advocate for Lai and connect the dots when it comes to attacks on democracy, free speech, freedom of the press and religious freedom.  

And, lest you think that our elected officials have fallen down on the job, may I introduce you to Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a longtime champion of religious freedom. Last year, Smith observed that “assaults on religious freedom are a major threat to U.S. national security” and that “the worst violators of religious freedom globally are often the biggest threats to our nation.” He added, “I am concerned that the U.S. State Department is not using all the tools provided to hold guilty parties accountable.” 

Twenty-six years ago, members of Congress — from both political parties — and those in the White House understood that religious freedom had to be enshrined in our foreign policy. Thanks to the IRFA, there is now a cadre of qualified international religious freedom experts both within the federal government and outside who stand ready to inform our nation’s response to religious persecution. Prominent U.S. Catholics are among their ranks. Now, more than ever, we must heed their warnings.