Pope Francis calls for Ukraine Peace Talks to be Honoured

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Pope Francis calls for Ukraine Peace Talks to be Honoured

Catholic Herald report– Pope Francis has called for the ceasefire agreement to be honoured in Ukraine in a meeting with the country’s bishops.

The Pope said the conflict had caused “great suffering to the entire population”.

“As I have assured you personally and conveyed by cardinal-envoys, I am very close to you with my prayers for the dead and for all those struck by violence, with the prayer to the Lord that He might speedily grant peace,” the Pope said.

He was speaking to the bishops of Ukraine during their ad limina visit to Rome. The bishops were led by Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latin Church.

The Pope appeared to warn the bishops against being drawn too deeply into politics.

He said that recent events “deal with questions that have a partially political base, and to which you are not called to give a direct response; but they are also socio-cultural realities and human tragedies that await your direct and positive contribution”.

The Pope continued: “On the national level, you are full citizens of your country, and so you have the right to express, even in the common way, your thought on its destiny — not in the sense of promoting a concrete political action, but in the indication and re-affirmation of the values that constitute the coagulating element of Ukrainian society, persevering in the tireless pursuit of harmony and of the common good, even in the face of grave and complex difficulties.”

Francis expressed dismay at reports of conflict between the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Latin Catholic Church. He said it was “painful for me personally to hear that there are misunderstandings and injuries” between the two communities.

The Pope said: “You are a single body and, as was said to you in the past by St John Paul II, and by Benedict XVI, I in my turn urge you to find among yourselves a manner of welcoming one another and of sustaining one another generously in your apostolic labours.”

Francis also urged the bishops to be attentive to their flock, especially the poor. “They are your wealth,” he said.

Source: Catholic Herald

 

Catholic Leaders Condemn Rise of Nationalist Parties in Europe

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Catholic Leaders Condemn Rise of Nationalist Parties in Europe

Catholic Herald report– Catholic leaders have condemned “racism and xenophobia” in Europe and urged religious communities to speak out against a growing “nationalism of exclusion” of the type that preceded both world wars.

The Conference of European Justice and Peace Commissions (COMECE) called it a “matter of serious concern” that “elections at regional, national and European level have shown a new rise of parties advocating the supremacy of narrow national interests over universal human values, international commitments and obligations”.

“The Christian vision of universal justice and peace does not allow for any kind of chauvinism – it calls for solidarity and respect for all,” the conference said in a February 18 report.

COMECE, which has always been a strong supporter of the European Union, stated that Catholic social teaching stressed the rights of “nations, cultures and minorities within existing nation-states” and believed “nothing can be said” against strong attachments to languages and places of birth.

However, it added that many parties were now seeking power by demanding “unilateral national measures, if necessary to the detriment of other peoples”.

“These slogans regularly find their way into the mainstream media and are thus amplified and orientate the general political agenda of a country in a nationalistic direction,” said the report, titled “The Nationalism of Exclusion.”

“Often racist or xenophobic, they inevitably bring to mind the belligerent and ultranationalist politics which preceded both world wars. By suggesting the nation, nationality and their underlying founding myths are an appropriate response to our contemporary challenges, those parties and their advocates refer to a paradigm of exclusion that will make matters worse.”

Last year’s Euro elections saw big advances by radical Right and Eurosceptic parties, with the Front National topping the polls in France and the UK Independence Party in Britain.

The parties are gaining in response to unprecedented levels of immigration and Islamic extremism, as well as economic uncertainty and disillusionment with politicians, at both European and national level.

Some observers say poverty and unemployment, currently averaging 20 percent across the EU, have boosted support for nationalist and populist groups and intensified hostility to migrants, refugees and minority groups.

The conference report said that by “playing on the deepest fears of people, populist nationalist politicians seek to obtain power by offering simple solutions, ignoring the facts that solutions based on injustice or the marginalisation of a part of a society can never lead to a peaceful and progressive community.”

Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, conference president, said the report would be submitted to policy-makers. He said the conference would provide national justice and peace commissions with a plan for assessing “the programmes and methods of nationalist and xenophobic parties”.

Source: Catholic Herald

 

Supreme Court Justice Who Officiated Gay Wedding Too Biased, Says NOM

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Supreme Court Justice Who Officiated Gay Wedding Too Biased, Says NOM

Christian post report– A traditional marriage group has called upon Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to recuse herself from a case regarding the constitutionality of state-level gay marriage bans.

The National Organization for Marriage demanded that Ginsburg recuse herself from Obergefell vs. Hodges due to recent comments that appeared to indicate she had already decided how she would rule even though the Court has not heard the arguments from either side.

“It is the law that a judge should disqualify him- or herself from hearing a case whenever his or her impartiality and lack of bias ‘might reasonably be questioned,'” stated NOM on Wednesday.

“Given Ginsburg’s recent public remarks, I think that it is very reasonable to question whether she’ll be impartial — don’t you?”

The comments NOM took issue with came from an interview Ginsburg gave to Bloomberg, where she spoke positively of same-sex marriage.

“In recent years, people have said, ‘This is the way I am.’ And others looked around, and we discovered it’s our next-door neighbor — we’re very fond of them,” said Ginsburg.

“Or it’s our child’s best friend, or even our child. I think that as more and more people came out and said that ‘this is who I am,’ the rest of us recognized that they are one of us.”

NOM has launched an online petition as part of their call, which as of Thursday morning has garnered over 3,500 signatures.

“Justice Ginsburg apparently feels that presiding over same-sex ‘weddings’ and speaking openly about how she believes the American people are ready for the Court to recognize a constitutional right allowing same-sex couples to marry,” reads the petition, posted at ActRight.com.

“…sign the petition demanding that Justice Ginsburg fulfill the legal and ethical obligations of her office by disqualifying herself from the pending case pertaining to marriage.”

From 2004 to 2012, over thirty states enacted constitutional bans on gay marriage via popular referendum.

Since late 2013, many of these bans have been declared unconstitutional by federal judges and occasionally on appeal via circuit courts.

In April, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments on an appeal regarding a circuit court decision that upheld four state-level constitutional bans on gay marriage.

NOM is not the first social conservative organization to demand that one or more Supreme Court justices recuse themselves from the pending oral arguments on the marriage bans.

Last month the American Family Association demanded that both Ginsburg and Justice Elena Kagan recuse themselves.

In a statement, AFA President Tim Wildmon argued that since Ginsburg and Kagan have both conducted gay marriage ceremonies, their impartiality is disputable.

“Both of these justices’ personal and private actions that actively endorse gay marriage clearly indicate how they would vote on same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court,” stated Wildmon.

“Both Kagan and Ginsburg have not only been partial to same-sex marriage but they have also proven themselves to be activists in favor of it.”

Source: Christian Post

 

Iranian Pastor Rasoul Abdollahi Pardoned and Released from Prison

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Iranian Pastor Rasoul Abdollahi Pardoned and Released from Prison

Christian Today report– An Iranian Christian pastor imprisoned for his faith since December 2013 has been released.

Pastor Rasoul Abdollahi was first arrested on 26 December 2010, as part of a widespread crackdown on Christian activity. He was detained and interrogated for more than two months before being released on bail.

He was then tried in court and imprisoned on 2 December 2013. But he has now been pardoned and released this week, and will be able to return to his wife and children.

Abdollahi is a leader in Iran’s house church movement, and was arrested on the same day as a number of other Christians, most of whom have since been released. However, Pastor Farshid Fathi, who was also arrested that day, remains in prison and has had his prison term extended.

A source, who must remain anonymous for security reasons, told Christian Today that Iran’s judiciary seems to be encouraging Christians that are arrested to leave the country before standing trial.

“Our feeling is that at the moment they are pressuring Christians to leave rather than bothering with the hassle of imprisoning them for long periods,” the source said.

“They are getting people to leave in fear rather than the expense and international outcry of putting people in prison.”

The source said there was one case where the judge explicitly told a defendant that he was going to give him the chance to leave the country.

Estimates from December 2014 suggest that there are currently 92 Christians detained in Iranian prisons, only 13 of whom are serving court-issued sentences.

Abdollahi was convicted under Iran’s national security laws, as his Christian ministry was construed as political and deemed a threat to national security. The source said his work was “not political at all” and that this is the method often used for arresting and imprisoning Christians.

The source could not confirm whether or not Pastor Abdollahi plans to try to leave the country after his release.

Source: Christian Today

 

Poll: For First Time, Majority of Americans Want Ground Troops Sent to Fight ISIS

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Poll: For First Time, Majority of Americans Want Ground Troops Sent to Fight ISIS

Christian Post report–  A CBS News poll has found that for the first time since the U.S. began military operations against ISIS, the majority of Americans want ground troops to be sent to fight the terror group.

“With concern about ISIS growing, support for the use of U.S. ground troops in the fight against ISIS has risen. For the first time, a majority of Americans (57 percent) favor the U.S. sending ground troops into Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS,” the report states.

“In October, Americans were divided (47 percent favored and 46 percent opposed), and in September these numbers were reversed (39 percent favored and 55 percent opposed).”

The military campaign against ISIS, named “Operation Inherent Resolve,” has so far conducted airstrikes against the terror group’s targets across Iraq and Syria. The U.S. and its allies have also been arming and training local forces who’ve fought back against the spread of the jihadists.

President Barack Obama has repeatedly said that America will not be sending any ground troops into the region to fight ISIS.

Back in August, Obama said that the American government will be “working with our international partners to provide humanitarian assistance to those who are suffering in northern Iraq wherever we have capabilities,” but said that that will happen “without committing combat troops on the ground.”

Earlier in February, the president asked Congress for new powers that will facilitate the continued battle against the jihadists.

Concerns in the U.S. over ISIS have been steadily rising, and the survey found that 65 percent of those who responded said that they view the terror group as a major threat. Among political lines, 86 percent of Republicans agreed that ISIS is a major threat, along with 61 percent of Democrats, and 57 percent of Independents.

As for sending ground troops, most Republicans, at 72 percent, supported the possible move. Democrats and Independents were more split on the issue, with 50 percent and 53 percent supporting, respectively.

The poll surveyed 1,006 adults, with the sampling error at plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Concerns about ISIS abroad are also mirroring growing concerns in the U.S. about the influence of Islam. A LifeWay Research poll last week found that one in three Americans fear that Islamic Shariah law could be applied in the U.S.

The poll followed news that the first known Islamic Tribunal court opened in Texas, though the mayor of the city of Irving denied that it has gained any legal power.

“ISIS has stirred an odd religious debate in America today,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research. “In a nation that has long espoused religious freedom, Americans are thinking long and hard about the kind of society Islam fosters — especially the more radical groups that say they are Islamic — and whether Shariah law would ever be adopted here.”

Source: Christian Post

 

Iain Duncan Smith Mocks Church of England’s ‘Dwindling Relevance’

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Iain Duncan Smith Mocks Church of England’s ‘Dwindling Relevance’

Christian Today report-Iain Duncan Smith has mocked the “dwindling relevance” of the Church of England.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said that when he heard bishops in the pre-election pastoral letter criticising “alienation and dwindling relevance” he assumed they were talking about their own congregations.

 

He told Sky News: “It is ironic that despite claiming to be non partisan they only produce these reports when conservatives are in government.”

In fact the pastoral letter was unprecedented, and while the bishops did say it was time to move on from the Conservative Thatcherite polices, they also said it was time to move on from the Labour style of governments such as Atlee’s.

Duncan Smith said: “I simply ask the question, where were the bishops when the last government crashed the economy, borrowed record sums, saw income inequality rise to record levels, while piling debts on the backs of our children?”

The Church of England’s 52-page manifesto from the bishops calls for an end of “politics as an extension of consumerism” and also criticises Trident. The bishops voice concerns about poverty, hunger and an “ugly undercurrent of racism” which goes against Christian teaching.

The prime minister, a practising Anglican and like the Archbishop of Canterbury an old Etonian, had earlier also criticised the bishops and insisted the economy had “genuine growth, real jobs and real security”.

Source: Christian Today

 

Air Strike Kills Dozens in Niger-Nigeria Border Village

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Air Strike Kills Dozens in Niger-Nigeria Border Village

BBC report– Thirty-seven people have died in an air strike in southern Niger, local officials say.

They were attending a funeral ceremony in Abadam village on the border with Nigeria when an unidentified plane began dropping bombs.

The incident came as the Nigerian army said more than 300 militants were killed in nearby north-east Nigeria during operations targeting Boko Haram.

Two soldiers lost their lives and 10 more were wounded in Borno state.

Nigerian defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said that a number of Boko Haram fighters had been captured and weapons and equipment seized.

The number of militant deaths has not been independently verified.

‘Three bombs’

A military official told AFP news agency that an air strike had hit a mosque in the village of Abadam.

The deputy mayor of Abadam, Ibrahim Ari, told the BBC that a plane had dropped three bombs. One struck a group of mourners sitting in front of the residence of a local chief.

He added that more than 20 people had been injured during the incident.

It is not yet clear who was responsible for the bombardment, but Nigeria has denied responsibility.

“It’s not to my knowledge and there has not been any report from our people of such an incident,” said Dele Alonge, a spokesman for Nigeria’s air force.

‘Desperate response’

Niger has been the target of bombings in the past, blamed on Boko Haram since it widened its brutal insurgency.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed during the group’s campaign for a breakaway Islamic state.

Niger, Chad and Cameroon have recently formed a military coalition with Nigeria to help combat the threat.

Nigerian forces have been accused of overstating enemy casualties in the past.

But the two-day operation against militants in Borno State had inflicted “massive casualties”, Mr Olukolade said.

He told the BBC he was not surprised Boko Haram was continuing to carry out attacks despite “heat” from coalition troops.

“What you see are elements of their desperate response to the ongoing onslaught on their various camps and locations.

“It is expected and it will be contained accordingly,” he added.

Source: BBC

 

 

Iraq-Kurdish Force to Regain Mosul from ISIS, Says US

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Iraq-Kurdish Force to Regain Mosul from ISIS, Says US

Christian Today report– An Iraqi and Kurdish military force of some 20,000 to 25,000 troops is being prepared to recapture the city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters, probably in the April-May time frame, an official at the US Central Command said on Thursday.

The official said Mosul was currently being held by 1,000 to 2,000 Islamic State fighters. No decision has been made on whether small numbers of US military advisers might need to be on the ground close to Mosul to direct close air support, the official told a group of reporters on condition of anonymity.

Mosul, which had a population of over 1 million people, was captured by Islamic State fighters in June and is the largest city in the group’s self-declared caliphate, a stretch of territory that straddles the border between northern Iraq and eastern Syria.

The main attack force being assembled for the Mosul campaign would include five Iraqi army brigades, the official said. Three smaller brigades would act as a reserve force, and three brigades of Kurdish peshmerga troops would contain the city from the north and isolate it from Islamic State forces further west.

A so-called Mosul fighting force consisting mainly of former Mosul police officers and tribal fighters also is being assembled for the assault, the official said. About a brigade of counterterrorism troops also would be employed in the fight, he said. The total number of troops would be 20,000 to 25,000.

The aim of Iraqi and US military leaders is to have all five Iraqi army brigades that comprise the main attack force participate in US-led training currently going on in Iraq. That will begin once the present batch of 3,200 trainees rotate out of the five training sites, the official said.

The official said the timing of the offensive would ultimately depend on the readiness of Iraqi forces, which collapsed last summer as Islamic State conquered Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, and raced across northern Iraq.

It is highly unusual for the US military to openly telegraph the timing of an upcoming offensive, especially to a large group of reporters.

Asked why the exception was being made for the Mosul offensive, which the Pentagon has described as a pivotal battle in the overall campaign in Iraq, the official said it was a reflection of the confidence of Iraq, which had devised the battle plan.

“They are absolutely committed to this. There are a lot of pieces that have to come together and we want to make sure the conditions are right. But this is their plan. They have bought into it. They are moving forward as if they will execute in the time frame that I just described,” the official said.

Source: Christian Today

 

Aberystwyth University Students Might Vote to Consider Bible Presence in Dorm ‘Unacceptable’

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Aberystwyth University Students Might Vote to Consider Bible Presence in Dorm ‘Unacceptable’

Christian Today report– Bibles in dorm rooms at UK college Aberystwyth University may become obsolete if the majority of students have their way.

A recent survey by the Student Union found that more than half of students find the religious text “unacceptable” or “uncomfortable” in a public institution, according to the Huffington Post.

 

The issue was raised last month by John David Morgan, a university student. Morgan found the default presence of Bibles in the dorms “inappropriate in a multicultural university.”

“It could be offensive for some, and the university should provide a safe space for students to explore and develop their beliefs in a neutral environment,” he explained.

“Bibles should, however, still be available for those who wish to have them.”

 

Jessica Hearne, a Christian student at Aberystwyth, was offended by the proposal to remove the Bibles.

“I think it’s disgusting for a free Bible in your room to be deemed ‘inappropriate,'” she told a student website.

“Athough we’re being called a ‘multicultural environment’, we are and have been for a long time, a Christian country.

“It offends me that the religious text of my country is being called inappropriate in its own country. Practising your own religion is completely fine, but accepting the religion of the area you live in as the norm is also important.”

The Student Union survey found that only 4 per cent of respondents thought that placing Bibles in the residence halls was a “good idea.”

The student council will convene later this month to determine whether to propose a removal of the Bibles to university officials.

Source: Christian Today

Vicar of Baghdad Warns Westerners not to Join Christian Militia to Fight ISIS

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Vicar of Baghdad Warns Westerners not to Join Christian Militia to Fight ISIS

Christian Post report– Concerned about reports that some idealistic Christian sympathizers have been moving to Iraq and Syria to join the fight against ISIS, the Vicar of Baghdad, Rev. Canon Andrew White, warned against the trend this week because, he said, the Christian militia fighting against ISIS in Iraq is “hopeless at fighting.”

Recounting a conversation he had with one of his Iraqi Christian guards to Christian Today while on a fundraising mission in Tennessee, White explained that the Christian fighters are “universally hopeless at fighting, let alone fighting ISIS.”

“I said to him (Iraqi Christian guard), ‘What would you do if ISIS were coming toward us?’ He said, ‘I would rip off my uniform and run.’ So I said, ‘Why do you do this job?’ He said, ‘I do it because I need the money,'” said White.

“Christians are no good at being soldiers. If going to join the new militia makes them feel good, great. But it will achieve absolutely nothing. We are dealing with an evil, evil regime as we saw in Libya with the beheadings of the Coptic Christians. There is very little that any Iraqi Christian or British Christian can do to help. The best thing they can do is stay at home,” he added.

While thousands of foreigners have been joining ISIS in Iraq and Syria in the past two years, Reuters reported Sunday that some Christian sympathizers, such as a 28-year-old U.S. Army veteran named Brett, have been joining a Christian militia against ISIS called Dwekh Nawsha. The name means self-sacrifice in ancient Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ and is still used by Assyrian Christians. The Christian militia operates alongside Kurdish peshmerga forces to protect Christian villages on the frontline in Nineveh province, according to Reuters.

“These are some of the only towns in Nineveh where church bells ring. In every other town the bells have gone silent, and that’s unacceptable,” Brett, who has “The King of Nineveh” written in Arabic on the front of his Army vest, told Reuters.

“Here I’m fighting for a people and for a faith, and the enemy is much bigger and more brutal,” he added.

Source: Christian Post

 

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