Coptic Church Recognises Martyrdom of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians Beheaded by ISIS

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Coptic Church Recognises Martyrdom of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians Beheaded by ISIS

Catholic Herald report– The Coptic Church has announced that the 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians killed by ISIS terrorists in Libya will be commemorated in its calendar.

The names of the martyrs will be entered into the Coptic Synaxarium, the Coptic Church’s leader Pope Tawadros II said. This procedure is similar to canonisation in the Latin Church.

According to terrasanta.net, the martyrdom of the 21 Christians will be commemorated on the 8th Amshir of the Coptic calendar, or February 15 of the Gregorian calendar. The commemoration falls on the feast day of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

A group claiming loyalty to ISIS released a video last Sunday showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians who were taken hostage in Libya several weeks ago.

The Coptic Christians were kidnapped in Sirte in eastern Libya in separate incidents in December and January.

Last week, Pope Francis prayed for God to welcome the 21 Coptic Christians as martyrs since they had their “throats slit for the sole reason of being Christians.”

“The Lord welcome them as martyrs, for their families, for my brother [Coptic Pope] Tawadros, who is suffering greatly,” he said.

Source: Catholic Herald

 

 

Afghanistan: Kidnapped Indian Jesuit Priest released after 8 months’ captivity

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Afghanistan: Kidnapped Indian Jesuit Priest released after 8 months’ captivity

Christian Today report– An Indian Jesuit priest has been released from captivity in Afghanistan after eight months.

Fr Alexis Prem Kumar was working for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) as its Afghanistan director when he was abducted by a group of unidentified men in the west of the country while on a visit to a JRS school there.

Based in Herat for the last five years, he had previously served Sri Lankan refugees in the southern India state of Tamil Nadu.

Kumar thanked India’s prime minister Narendra Modi for saving his life, saying: “It is because of PM Modi that I am back in India.”

The JRS has continued to run educational programmes for displaced people and their host communities in Afghanisation. Regional director Fr Stan Fernandes said: “We were close to the Afghan people before the abduction of Fr Prem and we will continue to accompany them in any way we can.”

He added: “Our attention now turns to the welfare of Fr Prem. All of us will do whatever we can to ensure that Prem receives the necessary attention and support from his family, his Jesuit brothers in the Society of Jesus, and his many friends and colleagues in JRS.”

Indian citizens and installations in Afghanistan have come under attack on several occasions in recent years.

In Iraq, at least 39 Indian workers are believed to be held hostage by the Islamic State group. India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj told their relatives on Saturday that the country had “no proof” about whether were dead or alive.

Source: Christian Today

Princeton Recieves Rare Books Donation Which Includes a Gutenberg Bible Printed in 1445 Which Worths Nearly $300m

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Princeton Recieves Rare Books Donation Which Includes a Gutenberg Bible Printed in 1445 Which Worths Nearly $300m

Christian Post report– Princeton University has received a donation of rare books and manuscripts, including a Gutenberg Bible that was printed around 1445. With an expected appraisal value of nearly $300 million, it’s the largest gift in the university’s history.

The Ivy League university has received the gift from musician, musicologist, bibliophile and philanthropist William H. Scheide, a 1936 Princeton University alumnus who died in November at age 100.

“Through Bill Scheide’s generosity, one of the greatest collections of rare books and manuscripts in the world today will have a permanent home here,” Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in a statement.

The Gutenberg Bible was printed in Mainz in 1455 or 1456, and was the first substantial book to be printed from moveable types in Europe. Today, there are only 48 copies of the Gutenberg Bible, some of which are in the U.S. Harvard and Yale universities, the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress and the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, according to Bloomberg.

“It will stand as a defining collection for Firestone Library and Princeton University,” Eisgruber added. “I cannot imagine a more marvelous collection to serve as the heart of our library. We are grateful for Bill Scheide’s everlasting dedication to Princeton and his commitment to sharing his breathtaking collection with scholars and students for generations to come.”

The collection includes original printing of the Declaration of Independence; Beethoven’s autograph, in his own handwriting, music sketchbook for 1815-’16; Shakespeare’s first printing works; significant autograph music manuscripts of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Wagner; a lengthy autograph speech by Abraham Lincoln from 1856 on the problems of slavery; and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s original letter and telegram copy books from the last weeks of the Civil War.

The Scheide Library has been housed in Princeton’s Firestone Library since 1959, when Scheide moved the collection from his hometown of Titusville, Pennsylvania.

“Bill’s generosity was legendary,” said university librarian Karin Trainer in the statement. “He was likewise generous with his library.”

She also said that the Scheide Library’s “true value” is the support it provides for the university’s academic programs.

“At its core, the Scheide Library is the richest collection anywhere of the first documents printed in 15th-century Europe,” said Anthony Grafton, Princeton’s Henry Putnam University professor of history. “But its magnificent books and manuscripts illuminate many areas, from the printing of the Bible to the ways in which the greatest composers created their music.”

Source: Christian Post

 

Paris: Charlie Hebdo Memorial Vandalised 4 Times in 2 Weeks

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Paris: Charlie Hebdo Memorial Vandalised 4 Times in 2 Weeks

Christian Today report– A memorial for the victims of the January terror attacks in Paris has been vandalised four times in two weeks.

The leader of the group which set up the memorial says they were “sickened and disgusted” to find that flowers and notes had been torn apart and scattered around the shrine at Place de la République.

’17 Never Again’ created the shrine in memory of those who died in the terror attacks last month at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Kosher supermarket, as well as the policewoman killed in Montrouge. The candles, flowers and messages promoting peace and unity have been targeted three times in the past two weeks, but on Thursday wreaths and drawings were ripped up and messages overwritten by vandals.

“It’s not the wind or the rain that did it as even objects and messages that were covered have been vandalised,” Sabrina Deliry told The Telegraph.

“When this happened before, we repaired the damage without saying anything, but this is too much.”

Hundreds of thousands marched through Paris to pay tribute to victims of the Islamist militant attacks last month, including dozens of world and faith leaders. Overnight, an illuminated sign on the Arc de Triomphe read: “Paris est Charlie”, and people all over the world expressed solidarity with the city.

However, the attacks – in response to cartoons of the Prohpet Muhammad published by Charlie Hebdo – also resulted in protests in several Muslim-majority countries.

More than 10,000 Muslims chanted “Down with Charlie Hebdo” and “Death to blasphemers” in a protest in Lahore, eastern Pakistan, while a Christian school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was stormed by hundreds of students protesting against the magazine. Bishops in Niger were forced to suspend Catholic masses and activities following arson attacks on churches and the deaths of at least 10 people.

The memorial attack follows the vandalism of hundreds of Jewish graves at a cemetery in eastern France, amid concern that anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise.

Source: Christian Today

 

London’s Oxford Street and Westfield Shopping Centre Named as Targets for Attacks

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London’s Oxford Street and Westfield Shopping Centre Named as Targets for Attacks

Christian Today report– A video released by the Somalian Al-Shabaab militant group has named London’s Oxford Street and two of its major shopping malls as specific targets for terrorist attacks.

Released on Saturday, the video features a masked man speaking with an English-sounding accent. He urges followers to attack Oxford Street and the Westfield shopping centres in Stratford and Shepherd’s Bush, as well as several US and Canadian shopping malls, even giving the GPS co-ordinates.

“We call upon our Muslim brothers, particularly those in the West, to answer the call of Allah and target disbelievers wherever they are,” the militant says in the 76-minute clip.

“If just a handful of mujahedeen fighters can bring Kenya to a complete standstill for nearly a week, imagine what a dedicated mujahedeen in the West could do to American or Jewish owned shopping centres across the world?” he added, referring to the September 2013 attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, which resulted in the deaths of at least 67 people. Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for that attack.

“What if such an attack on the Mall of America in Minnesota or the West Edmonton mall in Canada or in London’s Oxford Street, or any of the hundred or so of the Jewish owned Westfield shopping centres? Take the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford or White City for example, what would be the implications of such an attack, one can only imagine.

“All it takes is a man with firm determination, of which our Muslim ummah [community] has plenty of.”

The chief of homeland security in the US, Jeh Johnson, confirmed that authorities were taking the threats seriously, and urged citizens to be “particularly careful”.

“This latest statement from al Shabaab reflects the new phase we’ve evolved to in the global terrorist threat, in that you have groups such as al Shabaab and ISIL publicly calling for independent actors in their homelands to carry out attacks,” he told CNN.

“We’re beyond the phase now where these groups would send foreign operatives into countries after being trained someplace.”

A spokesperson for the London Metropolitan Police said the terrorism command was assessing the content of the video.

Source: Christian Today

 

‘Mystifying’ Why Obama Admin Disclosed Plans to Retake Mosul Says Senator Tom Cotton

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‘Mystifying’ Why Obama Admin Disclosed Plans to Retake Mosul Says Senator Tom Cotton

Christian Post report– The U.S. Central Command is drawing criticism for revealing too many operational details about its plan to train up to 25,000 Iraqi troops as part of a mission to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State terror group in Iraq in April or May.

“That is pretty amazing that that information’s out there,” retired Gen. Jack Keane, former Army vice chief of staff, told Fox News on Friday, the day after the Command announced its plan.

A senior Command official told reporters Thursday that the mission involving at least five Iraqi Army brigades and three brigades of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters will be carried out around April and May before Ramadan and summer heat begin in that country.

“They will go through the training, ensure they have the equipment they need, then we will posture them … to actually execute the operation,” the official was quoted as saying.

A serving military intelligence officer said the information disclosed “telegraphs” the timing and number of units involved.

“It’s very mystifying why this administration would reveal potential plans to retake Mosul,” Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was quoted as saying.

“I certainly think it’s a roll of the dice. It’s a bit of a gamble that the Pentagon is taking,” Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat who is part of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN.

However, the White House refused to comment.

“This sort of operational planning that was discussed at the Department of the Defense is something that’s done by the Department of Defense. I’m not in a position to confirm the accuracy of those details,” Obama’s press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Friday, adding later that he “can’t confirm that that is the playbook.”

Earnest added, “We would anticipate that with this advanced training, with new equipment and with the strong support of coalition military airpower that the battlefield performance of the Iraqi security forces would be greatly enhanced.”

The U.S. military is leading airstrikes on ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria, and also has troops on the ground to train Iraqi counterparts.

Coalition troops have been able to train only about 3,400 Iraqi troops thus far, according to a Command official.

The quality of the training also doesn’t look good, some say. In the Camp Taji training center, for example, Iraqi troops were trained mostly without weapons in January, according to the Washington Post.

While details of the Mosul mission have been announced, a spokesman for the Command said the assault can be delayed, according to The Telegraph. “May is just an initial goal. If senior leaders do not feel that by then they are in a position where they can be successful, they can change it.”

The U.S. estimates that there are between 1,000 and 2,000 ISIS fighters in Mosul, but Iraqi and Kurdish forces put the number at about 10,000.

Some say the overall strategy of the Obama https://thechristianmail.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpadministration to counter ISIS is also flawed.

The mission may not succeed “unless there is, at the same time, a deeper understanding on the part of our government of the real threat that the Islamic State and its adherents pose to us as a nation—and what our role in this broader fight must be,” writes Michael T. Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency until August 2014, in an op-ed for Politico.

“We, as a nation, must accept and face the reality that we and other contributing nations of the world are at war, and not just in Iraq,” he adds. “We are in a global war with a radical and violent form of the Islamic religion, and it is irresponsible and dangerous to deny it. This enemy is far broader than the 40,000 or so fighters in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. There also exists a large segment of this radical version of Islam in over 90 nations abroad as well as here at home. Just ask those countries from which foreign fighters are flowing into the Levant to support this ‘jihad.'”

ISIS, also known as ISIL, is an al-Qaeda offshoot which seeks to form an Islamic emirate in the Levant region through “jihad.” It has gained control over large territories in Iraq and Syria.

Source: Christian Post

 

Filipino Bishop Efraim Tendero Instated as World Evangelical Alliance New Secretary General

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Filipino Bishop Efraim Tendero Instated as World Evangelical Alliance New Secretary General

Christian Post report– The World Evangelical Alliance inaugurated its new secretary general, Filipino Bishop Efraim Tendero, at its International Leadership Forum this week in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, before evangelical leaders from over 40 countries.

“As we commissioned our brother Efraim, I was reminded of the words of the apostle Paul to the Ephesian leaders. Not knowing what was ahead of him when he lands in Jerusalem, his commitment to the ministry of the gospel was unswerving, ‘to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me’, that is what informed my prayer for him,” Rev. Ndaba Mazabane, Chair of the International Council and acting Secretary General, said in a statement about the occasion.

The Council made the decision about Tendero by unanimous vote last month. Tendero, widely known as Bishop Ef, will officially begin his five-year tenure on March 1. WEA represents more than 600 million evangelicals around the globe.

“When I was asked to become the next Secretary General, a main reason that I accepted the task was the clear purpose of the WEA,” Tendero said at his inauguration. “It is very difficult, even impossible, to guide an organization that doesn’t know the reason of its existence. But when there is an organism with its foundations in the purposes of God: furthering the witness of Christ, strengthening the Church and pursuing holiness, justice, and renewal at every level of society; then the difficult again becomes possible.”

Bishop Tendero added that all of his ministry is serving the Church “so that the Church will be used by God to transform and disciple the nations.”

“I have been amazed by the tremendous goodwill and support Bishop Ef has received from our constituency and this gives me hope and affirms our decision to have appointed him,” Mazabane added. “The task ahead is huge, but together with God’s help we will strive to build unity among evangelicals and promote the gospel of grace globally.”

Evangelical leaders from every region prayed for Tendero and welcomed him as the new leader of the WEA at the Honduras event Thursday.

Tendero succeeds Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, who decided not to seek a third term after leading the global alliance for 10 years.

Tendero has served the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches for over 20 years, representing about 30,000 evangelical churches in the Catholic-majority nation in South East Asia, where he is also President of the Philippine Relief and Development Services.

He also serves as International Facilitator for South East Asia of the Asia Evangelical Alliance and is the chair of the board of Back to the Bible Broadcast, Evangelism Explosion, 3 Philippines, Global Filipino Movement and the Philippine Missions Association.

He is also the Executive Editor of Evangelicals Today, published in the Philippines.

Bishop Tendero has actively sought to make a difference in the Philippines’ politics. His national alliance joined calls last August for President Benigno Aquino not to extend his term of office.

“It is best for him to just endorse a new leader who would faithfully continue his fight against corruption,” Tendero said in a statement at the time. “I’m praying and hoping that President Aquino would finish well as a good leader, and what he started in the struggle for a ‘righteous path’ will be passed smoothly to his successor.”

Tendero did a Bachelor of Theology from Febias College of Bible, and then a Master of Divinity with focus on pastoral counseling from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He was later offered two honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Asian Theological Seminary and Febias College of Bible, and a Doctor of Leadership degree from International Graduate School of Leadership.

Bishop Tendero and his wife, Sierry, have four children and two grandchildren.

Source: Christian Post

 

Religious Violence is a Global Challenge, Says Canon Porter

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Religious Violence is a Global Challenge, Says Canon Porter

Christian Today report– Violence in the name of religion is “a defining issue of our generation”, according to a senior Anglican clergyman.

Canon David Porter was appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury as director for reconciliation at Lambeth Palace. He was speaking to members of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) at a meeting aimed at setting the Commission’s future work.

According to the WCC, at the meeting Porter said that religiously sanctified violence is a global challenge, and not just an issue of the Arab world. “The reality is that those promoting such violence are looking deep into their own religious traditions and are attempting to find justifications for their actions,” he said.

“It isn’t just a façade; for many it comes with a deep ideological commitment from their tradition, as they understand it. Therefore the challenge for us is to look again into all religious traditions and see how traditions and texts are used to justify violence.”

Porter stressed the need to delve deeper into what instigates young people to be attracted to the views articulated by extremists. He said for many young people this is an ideological issue with several reasons behind much of their anger and violence.

He stressed the need for a safe space for religious leaders, where they can openly and honestly address the question of why people are seduced by extremist narratives.

Other contributors also noted that religion was only one factor in the rise of violence. Audeh Quawas, a member of the CCIA from Jordan, said: “Injustice, corruption and dictatorships are major reasons that incite violence in communities and societies.”

Peter Prove, director of the CCIA, highlighted the historical role of the churches in international affairs, manifested by the work of the CCIA since its foundation in 1946, two years before the WCC itself.

“From the outset, CCIA played an important role on behalf of the churches, especially in the formative process of the United Nations and drafting of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights,” he said.

Source: Christian Today

Colombian Court Maintains Its Condition on Same-Sex Adoption

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Colombian Court Maintains Its Condition on Same-Sex Adoption

Christian Today report–  The Constitutional Court of Colombia upheld the country’s restrictions against same-sex adoption on Wednesday.

The high court found that same-sex couples can continue to adopt children as long as one of the partners is the biological parent.

The ruling does not prohibit the Congress of Colombia from creating legislation on the issue in the future, and the court recommended that lawmakers address the “legislative vacuum” that LGBT couples face in the country.

A series of rulings between 2007 and 2011 afforded gay couples many of the common-law marriage rights that heterosexual couples enjoy, including property, pension, and inheritance rights.

In July 2011, the court determined that gay couples have the right to form a legal family, and ordered Congress to propose same-sex marriage legislation by June 2013.

A bill was introduced in 2012 to legalise same-sex marriage, but it was ultimately rejected by the Senate. Civil union legislation was similarly defeated in 2007.

After Wednesday’s ruling, some LGBT activists said the justices did not go far enough, with Senator Armando Benedetti calling them “cowards.”

Others commended the court for finding a compromise between allowing gay couples to adopt without restriction, and blocking them from adopting at all.

Colombia’s Conference of Bishops president, the Right Rev. Msgr. Luis Agosto Castro Quiroga, vowed that he would continue to oppose same-sex adoption, and fight for “the right of children to have a mother and a father.”

“Two mums don’t make a dad,” he insisted.

Source: Christian Today

Kerry Concerned About Palestinian Authority as Israel Stops Funding

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Kerry Concerned About Palestinian Authority as Israel Stops Funding

Christian Today report–  US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday expressed concern about the viability of the Palestinian Authority if it does not soon receive tax revenue which has been withheld by Israel.

The funds have been held back from the Authority since last month in retaliation for Palestinian moves to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The move would pave the way for the ICC to take jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in Palestinian lands and to investigate the conduct of Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

While the United States opposed steps by the Palestinians to join the ICC, it has raised concerns with the Israelis about its decision to freeze the transfer of more than $100 million in tax revenue, warning it could further raise tensions.

The tax revenue is critical to running the Authority, which exercises limited self-rule, and for paying public sector salaries. Israel took a similar step in December 2012, freezing revenue transfers for three months in response to the Palestinians’ launch of a campaign for recognition of statehood at the United Nations.

The issue of funding for the aid-dependent Palestinians was raised in talks between Kerry and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in London. Kerry warned of another crisis in the region if the Palestinians did not receive funding.

“If the Palestinian Authority ceases, or were to cease security cooperation, or even decide to disband as a result of their economic predicament, and that could happen in the future if they don’t receive additional revenues, then we would be faced by yet another crisis,” Kerry told a news conference.

“We are working hard to prevent that from happening and that is why we have been reaching out to key stakeholders to express these concerns and also to try to work together to find a solution to this challenge,” he said, without elaborating.

The World Bank warned last year that war in Gaza would contribute to a reversal of seven years of growth in the Palestinian economy.

Source: Christian Today

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