Italian Bishop Says He is Ready for Martyrdom as He Refuses to Leave Libyan City

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Italian Bishop Says He is Ready for Martyrdom as He Refuses to Leave Libyan City

Christian Today report– The Italian Bishop of Tripoli has refused to leave the Libyan city in spite of the deaths of the 21 Coptic Christians, and has said that he is ready for martyrdom.

Bishop Giovanni Martinelli has stayed in the city although almost all of his countrymen have left, repatriated by the Italian government in the face of the serious threat posed by Islamic State jihadists. They returned on a ferry escorted by an Italian warship covered by Predator drone flying overhead.

In an interview with the Corriere del Veneto newspaper, Martinelli said that his decision to stay was “the culmination of my testimony”. He said that he had been threatened in the street by a Muslim man who told him, “You are against Islam.”

“In church they came to tell me that I must die,” he added.

“But I want you to know that Father Martinelli is well,” he said, adding that if it was God’s will that he should be beheaded, “so it will be”.

“Being able to give testimony is a precious thing,” he said. “I thank the Lord that he allows me to do so, even with martyrdom.

“I’m not moving from here. And I’m not afraid.”

He referred to the action of St Francis of Assisi, who accompanied a Crusader army to Egypt in 1219 and visited the camp of Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil in an unsuccessful attempt to convert him, saying: “Whoever wants to go among the Saracens must leave everything.”

The bishop has lived in Libya since 1971 and regards it as his home. When he arrived in the country there were 150,000 Christians there, a number that has dwindled to only 300.

Source: Christian Today

 

Ousted Christian Fire Chief Files Lawsuit Against City of Atlanta

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Ousted Christian Fire Chief Files Lawsuit Against City of Atlanta

Christian Post report– Attorneys for ousted Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Atlanta on Wednesday, claiming his termination violates his constitutional rights.

Cochran, a devout Christian, was fired by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in January after seven years of service as Atlanta’s fire chief, for sharing his faith in a self-published book and handing out copies to employees. His lawsuit against the city comes nearly one month after Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on religious freedom grounds.

“Americans are guaranteed the freedom to live without fear of being fired because of their beliefs and thoughts,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman in a statement shared with The Christian Post. “The city of Atlanta is not above the Constitution and federal law. In America, a religious or ideological test cannot be used to fire a public servant.”

The city has not yet publicly responded to Cochran’s lawsuit; however, a city spokeswoman previously said it will defend Reed’s decision to terminate Cochran “whether through the EEOC administrative process or in any other appropriate forum,” according to MyFoxAtlanta.com.

The case has sparked widespread debates about First Amendment rights, particularly regarding religious liberties. Cochran previously told CP that he believes his termination is proof of a growing threat on religious freedoms facing Christians and other people of faith.

In his 2013 book, Who Told You That You Are Naked?, Cochran calls homosexuality and lesbianism “sexual perversion” and “vulgar” and also likens it to “bestiality” and “pederasty.”

In November, city officials said Cochran had violated policy by self-publishing his book and then handing it out to employees. Subsequently, he was suspended without pay and forced to undergo sensitivity training.

The book was brought to their attention when an AFRD member complained about Cochran distributing copies in the workplace. A city investigation determined Cochran had not discriminated against LGBT employees but he was fired anyway.

“Every American should be concerned about a government that thinks it can fire you because of what you believe,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “If it can happen to Chief Cochran, a distinguished firefighter who attained the highest fire service position in the United States, it can happen to anybody.”

Reed said previously that Cochran was not fired for his religious beliefs but rather “because he displayed bad judgment.” He added that Cochran did not follow the correct protocol prior to writing the self-published book even though the former fire chief has said otherwise.

The city’s ethics code requires a commissioner to get approval from the board of ethics prior to engaging in private activity for pay.

“I had legal permission to write the book from the city’s ethics officer [Nina Hickson],” Cochran told CP in an exclusive interview. “[It] was through a verbal conversation, there was no documentation. … She said it was legal and I was authorized to write it and that she wanted a copy when I finish, after I told her what the book was going to be about.”

Cochran said he was authorized to write the book during a five-minute phone conversation with Hickson.

“I had legal authority to write the book; however, she cannot remember that conversation,” he said.

In a statement to CP, Hickson refuted these claims and cited the Atlanta City Code of Ordinances, Section 2-820 (d).

“The Atlanta’s Ethics Code establishes the required approval process for City Commissioners who wish to engage in outside activities for pay,” Hickson wrote in an email. “Consequently, I did not authorize Chief Cochran to write and publish the book, nor did I have the authority to do so.”

Since his termination, Cochran has been overwhelmed by an outpouring of public support. Last month, hundreds of religious freedom advocates gathered for the “Standing for our Faith Rally” in the Georgia Capitol rotunda and they hand-delivered a petition with 50,000 signatures to Reed’s office.

Faith Driven Consumers, an advocacy group representing 41 million Christians, has called on the mayor to reinstate Cochran as fire chief and also to apologize for his termination via its extinguish intolerance campaign, which has more than 10,000 signatures.

Source: Christian Post

Germany’s Richest Diocese Has Greater Assets Than the Vatican

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Germany’s Richest Diocese Has Greater Assets Than the Vatican

Catholic Herald report– A diocese in Germany has greater assets than the Vatican, it has been revealed.

Cologne diocese published its 2013 accounts yesterday, the fourth of Germany’s 27 bishoprics to present an annual financial balance.

Cologne general-vicar Stefan Hesse presented the figures, showing that it has assets of €3.35 billion (£2.45 billion), which compares with Vatican assets of £2 billion.

More than two-thirds of Cologne’s assets are held in investments, including two housing companies owning 24,000 flats, some for low earners. Fr Hasse also said the income, mostly from the country’s church tax, was also used to help refugees and the homeless. The diocese also has real estate, including schools, seminaries and conference centres, worth £500m, in an area covering two million Catholics.

The German Church is hugely wealthy because registered Catholics must pay a share of their income tax towards the Church under a long-standing agreement dating back to the 19th century. In 2013, the Catholic Church in Germany received almost €5.5 billion (£4.6 billion) via the church tax.

Source: Catholic Herald

 

As Obama Finally Identifed Beheaded Egyptians as ‘Christians’ , He’s Being Asked to Admit ISIS are ‘Radical Islamic Jihadists’

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As Obama Finally Identifed Beheaded Egyptians as ‘Christians’ , He’s Being Asked to Admit ISIS are ‘Radical Islamic Jihadists’

Christian Post report– President Barack Obama has finally identified the 21 Egyptians beheaded by ISIS as Christians, after initially facing criticism for failing to point out that fact in his response to the massacre. Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, congratulated Obama for taking this “first step,” but also urged him to admit that the ISIS militants are “radical Islamic jihadists.”

“The President acknowledges the martyrdom of Egyptians ‘Christians’ in Libya. This is an important and significant first step. It is well past time for the president and America’s political leaders of both parties to realistically assess the world as it is, not as they might wish it to be,” said Land, who also serves as the executive editor of The Christian Post.

His remarks are aimed at Obama’s op-ed for the LA Times posted on Tuesday, where the president explains that America’s fight is against “violent extremism.”

“In Syria and Iraq, the terrorist group we call ISIL has slaughtered innocent civilians and murdered hostages, including Americans, and has spread its barbarism to Libya with the murder of Egyptian Christians,” Obama wrote, using a different name for ISIS.

Christians around the world are mourning the deaths of the 21 Coptic Christians, who were kidnapped by masked gunmen from Libya in December and January. Their beheadings were recorded in a video released by ISIS, titled “A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross.”

In its initial statement about the massacre, the White House only referred to the victims as “Egyptian citizens.” This drew criticism from figures such as evangelical preacher Rev. Franklin Graham and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who both said Obama should have specifically identified the victims as Christians.

“The truth is — their barbaric murderers openly said they killed them because they were ‘people of the cross.’ Why is the president seemingly continuing to protect Islam and refusing to open his eyes to the truth?” Graham asked earlier this week.

Obama noted in his recent article that ISIS and other terror groups such as Boko Haram kill and kidnap men, women, and children, but said that such actions are rejected by the “overwhelming majority” of Muslims in the world.

“The world must continue to lift up the voices of Muslim clerics and scholars who teach the true peaceful nature of Islam. We can echo the testimonies of former extremists who know how terrorists betray Islam,” Obama wrote.

The President has on numerous occasions stated that the United States is not at war with Islam, but with the terror groups carrying out violenent attacks.

In his statement, Land observed that ISIS and other jihadists “are at war with the United States, Western civilization in general, and their fellow Muslims who refuse to knuckle under and submit to what the President calls their ‘twisted interpretation of religion.'”

“It must always be remembered that the overwhelming majority of people slaughtered by the jihadists so far have been fellow Muslims,” Land added.

He argued, however, that the “enemy” needs to be correctly identified, and it is not enough simply to say that it is terrorism.

“Mr. President, I commend you for correctly identifying the Egyptian martyrs as ‘Christians.’ Now it is time for you to bite the bullet and correctly identify the perpetrators, radical Islamic jihadists,” Land wrote.

Source: Christian Post

 

Libya and Egypt Urges UN to Lift Arms Embargo to Fight Islamic State

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Libya and Egypt Urges UN to Lift Arms Embargo to Fight Islamic State

Telegraph report–  Libya and Egypt asked the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo on Libya and help it build the army so it can tackle Islamic State and other extremist groups.

Mohamed Dayri, the Libyan foreign minister, addressed the council after UN special envoy Bernardino Leon told the group that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and other militants in Libya can only be defeated with a united government in place that has strong international support.

“Libya needs a decisive stance from the international community to help us build or national army’s capacity and this would come through a lifting of the embargo on weapons so our army can receive materiel and weapons so as to deal with this rampant terrorism,” Mr Dayri said.

The Libyan government is allowed to import weapons and related materiel with the approval a UN Security Council committee that oversees and arms embargo imposed in 2011.

Libya has descended into factional fighting, leaving the country almost lawless nearly four years after Muammar Gaddafi’s fall. Two competing governments backed by militia brigades are scrambling for control.

The United Nations is mediating between the rival factions in a bid to get them to forge a unity government and end hostilities.

Egypt directly intervened for the first time in the conflict in neighbouring Libya on Monday after Isil released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.

Sameh Shukri, the Egyptian foreign minister, backed Libya’s call for the arms embargo to be lifted.

Mr Shukri also called for “concrete measures to prevent the acquisition of arms by all non-state militias and entities through the imposition of a naval blockade on arms heading to areas of Libya outside the control of the legitimate authorities.”

Italy called for urgent international action to halt Libya’s slide into chaos, and pledged it was ready to help monitor a ceasefire and train local armed forces.

“In Libya, Islamic State has found fertile ground in the growing post revolution political instability, capitalising also on the weakness of state institutions and state security sector,” Leon, the special envoy, said.

“Defeating terrorism in Libya can only be achieved through the political and institutional determination of a united Libyan government, which will need the strong and unequivocal support from the international community in confronting the myriad challenges facing Libya,” he added.

Source: Telegraph

Evangelicals Could Affect General Elections Positively

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Evangelicals Could Affect General Elections Positively

Christian Today report–

I must admit I was quietly relieved to read the latest statistics from the Evangelical Alliance on what is most likely to affect how evangelical Christians will vote in the coming election.

There are days when some of the traffic on social media and some of the newspaper headlines make it look as if evangelicals might only be concerned about gay marriage and right-to-life issues. I understand how important these issues are for many, but this new survey of 2020 Christians tells a different story.

– Freedom of speech

– Alleviating poverty

– Working to end a foodbank culture

– Fighting human trafficking

– The living wage

– Reducing pornography

– Protecting the NHS

All of the seven issues above make it into the top 10 concerns of evangelicals and apparently will be the deciding factors as to how most will vote.

According to January’s YouGov survey commissioned by Christian Vision for Men, 60 per cent of people who regularly attend church are middle class (ie demographic category ABC1). This makes the range of issues that are central to the voting habits of evangelicals even more interesting. In the main these are not self-interest issues – they are about seeking the welfare of society, not just the Church.They put the needs of the poor and marginalised at the forefront, rather than personal gain. Rather than focusing on tax cuts, immigration or personal pensions, evangelicals are going back to their social activist roots where according to historian Professor Brian Stanley, “Anti-slavery was the cause celebre of the evangelical conscience, and the language and methods of the anti-slavery campaigns were carried over into campaigns against other social and moral wrongs.”

What’s more, when you add up the numbers evangelicals have a real opportunity to influence the public life of the nation as the election approaches. In the 2010 election 29.7 million people voted, which was 65.1 per cent of the electorate. With the last election being one of the closest ever fought, the difference in votes between the three major parties was very small, with Conservatives on 10,726,614, Labour on 8,609,527 and Liberal Democrats on 6,836,824.

Even taking in consideration how the constituency lines fall, 2 million votes can make a very significant difference in what many expect to be an even closer election this year.

With this in mind Christians should take the opportunity to help make sure that questions of social concern are a central part of the election conversation. The recent pastoral letter from bishops of the Church of England encouraging congregations to vote and for asking for a fresh moral vision in British politics was an important step in this direction. The latest survey results from the Evangelical Alliance show the bishops’ pastoral concerns are shared by the majority of evangelical voters.

My hope is that this political opportunity won’t just be for the election season but will lead to more evangelicals using their political influence to seek the welfare of the society in which we all live.

Dr Krish Kandiah is the president of London School of Theology and founder of the fostering and adoption charity Home for Good.

Source: Christian Today

 

War Against ISIS Shouldn’t be Accompanied by Rules, Says Dr. Ben Carson

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War Against ISIS Shouldn’t be Accompanied by Rules, Says Dr. Ben Carson

Christian Post report–  Author and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson has declared that in a war against the Islamic State, the United States Armed Forces shouldn’t have any “rules” holding them back from defeating the terrorist organization.

In an interview with Fox News’ Bill Hemmer Monday morning, Carson explained that when fighting ISIS, Western rules of engagement could get in the way of victory.

“Our military needs to know that they’re not going be prosecuted when they come back, because somebody has said, ‘You did something that was politically incorrect,'” said Carson.

“There is no such thing as a politically correct war. We need to grow up, we need to mature. If you’re gonna have rules for war, you should just have a rule that says no war. Other than that, we have to win.”

Formed in 2013 as an off shoot of al-Qaeda, ISIS has garnered international attention for their atrocity laden campaign of conquor nations throughout the Middle East and beyond.

ISIS controls large swathes of territory in Northern Iraq, Syria, and most recently the African nation of Libya.

The terror group has shocked the international community with their brutal killings of civilians and prisoners of war, prompting international condemnation and a wave of airstrikes from the United States and other countries.

On Wednesday morning, CNN reported that Kurdish fighters had successfully repelled an ISIS force near the Iraqi city of Erbil.

“Kurdish commanders say ISIS fighters had threatened to overrun Kurdish defensive positions in the area for a while, and the two sides were so close that airstrikes were not possible,” reported CNN.

“The commanders said about 40 ISIS fighters were killed, and Kurdish forces suffered several casualties. They said airstrikes contributed to the ISIS deaths.”

Carson’s comments to Fox News have garnered their share of condemnation as some, including Matt Wilstein of Mediaite, have pointed out notable drawbacks to resorting to war without rules against ISIS.

“While there may be ‘no such thing as a politically correct war,’ there is such a thing as the Geneva Conventions to which the United States is a party,” wrote Wilstein. “And there are such things as war crimes, for which military leaders can be prosecuted if they are committed.”

Carson has since expanded upon his reasoning offered to Fox News in an opinion column published Tuesday wherein he called ISIS “the face of evil.”

“Understanding that we are not evil makes it easier to identify evil elsewhere and to combat it effectively,” wrote Carson.

“When we accept the falsehood that everyone is equally bad and, therefore, we have no right or obligation to interfere with atrocities occurring elsewhere in the world, we facilitate the development and growth of groups such as ISIS, which are not dissimilar to the adherents of Adolf Hitler, who also aspired to world domination.”

Source: Christian Post

 

LGBT Catholics got VIP seats at Pope Francis Address on Ash Wednesdy

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LGBT Catholics got VIP seats at Pope Francis Address on Ash Wednesdy

Christian Today report–  An American advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Catholics were given front row seats at Pope Francis’ address on Ash Wednesday.

The 50 members of the Maryland-based New Ways Ministry were seated in the same area as the Pope at the address in St Peter’s square yesterday. This is the third pilgrimage they have made, but the first time they have been given this distinction.

When the Pope passed their group they sang ‘All Are Welcome’, a popular hymn among those calling for an inclusive Church.

“It’s really an incredible honour and an incredible step forward for the LGBT community to be recognized,” the group’s executive director Francis DeBernardo told CNN.

DeBernardo said the group were “basically ignored” on its previous visits under Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II. “So not just to be acknowledged, but to be acknowledged in such an honourable way is [good]”, he said.

However, the group were not given the private audience with the Pope that they had requested. They were identified on the guest list as a group of lay Catholics, not as pilgrims representing Catholic LGBT community and so were not mentioned when a monsignor listed the various groups of pilgrims present at the service.

Even so, Sister Jeannine Gramick, the group’s co-founder told Reuters it was a “sign of movement that’s due to the Francis effect.”

“What this says is that there is movement in our Church, movement to welcome people from the outside closer to the inside,” Gramick said

According to the Religion News Service, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Britain’s most senior Catholic bishop, sent an encouraging message to a similar group of LGBT Catholics from the UK, who joined New Ways Ministry in Rome. “Be assured of my prayers for each and every one of you,” Nichols wrote. “Have a wonderful pilgrimage. God bless you all.”

The Catholic Church’s official position on homosexual relationships has not changed under Francis, but there have been signs of a more welcoming approach to the LGBT community. The Pope has also urged the Church not to marginalise the gay community. In 2013 he said “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge them?”

In keeping with tradition, Pope Francis marked the start of Lent with a procession from Rome’s Sant’Anselmo church to the church of Santa Sabina on Aventine Hill, where he led a Mass.

In his homily the pontiff encouraged Catholics to ask God for the “gift of tears” in prayer, the Catholic News Agency reports.

Speaking from the Joel, where he said the prayer of the priests should be accompanied by tears, Francis called Catholics to approach Lent with the same attitude “so as to make our prayer and journey of conversion ever more authentic and without hypocrisy.”

Turning also to the Gospel of Matthew, he referred to Jesus’ words to his disciples about fasting: he warns them not to “look gloomy” when they fast so that they avoid being like the hypocrites. The Pope said that hypocrites “don’t know how to cry. They have forgotten how to cry. They don’t ask for the gift of tears.”

Source: Christian Today

 

Middle East Suffering, the Greatest Tragedy Since World War II

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Middle East Suffering, the Greatest Tragedy Since World War II

Catholic Herald report– The Middle East is suffering a “Way of the Cross” that is the greatest tragedy since World War Two, Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregoire III Laham said in his Lenten message.

He said the Church, despite its efforts, is having difficulty meeting the growing needs it faces in the region.

“We fail in front of the suffering of our people in all walks of life, Christians and Muslims. It’s a universal suffering,” he said.

“We as pastors are with our people, at their side, in front of them, behind them,” Patriarch Laham said, adding that it is “as if we wash the feet of those who are suffering as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.”

“We are in the fifth year of the Way of the Cross,” especially in Syria, Iraq and the Palestinian territories and also in Lebanon, “which is affected in a tragic way by war, which rages around it,” Patriarch Laham said.

He continued: “This is a tragedy of the greatest tragedies of history — not just in the region, but in the world — since World War Two.

“We call on all citizens and our children (to work together and with Pope Francis) to not let the flame of hope be extinguished in your hearts.”

The Syrian-born prelate pointed out that Lebanon has accepted waves of displaced people and refugees: from Palestine since 1949, from Syria since 2011 and, currently and in stages, from Iraq.

Lebanon is now hosting more than 1.5 million refugees — mostly Syrians and an increasing flow of Iraqi Christians — putting a strain on the country’s infrastructure and resources for its existing population of around four million people.

“How many have heard about all the stories of suffering,” he said. He noted that although the Church encourages the faithful in the region to remain and hold on “with ropes of hope and faith and surrender to the will of God,” at the same time, the decision whether to stay or to leave one’s country “is a personal decision and responsibility of every individual and every family.”

“But we as pastors, we will remain with all who remain, and serve them … with all our strength,” Patriarch Laham added.

He thanked Muslims who urged Christians to remain in the Middle East. They have included leaders of Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s leading institution of higher learning, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

In a separate Lenten message, Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite Catholic patriarch, called for greater efforts to preserve the Christian presence in the Middle East.

“You know, my brothers and sisters, loved ones, how the needs of our people in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and the Holy Land are growing, because of the wars and destruction and displacement, as well as displacement and impoverishment due to the economic crisis and rising costs of living, unemployment and limited job opportunities,” the Lebanese cardinal said.

He urged people to participate in Caritas Lebanon’s annual fundraising campaign “geared to meet these needs,” which he said must be addressed in charity and love. He also assured people that “Christ is capable of renewing everything around us.”

The patriarchs called for fasting and prayer for peace. They also thanked Pope Francis for his appeals for Christians in the Middle East.

In the Eastern Catholic churches, Lent begins two days earlier than in the Latin rite. Ashes were distributed on February 16 this year in Eastern churches.

Source: Catholic Herald

 

ISIS Burned to Death 45 People in Western Iraq

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ISIS Burned to Death 45 People in Western Iraq

Christian post report– Jihadists from terror group ISIS have reportedly burned to death 45 people in the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, though local police forces have been unable to identify yet who the victims are.

Police chief Col. Qasim al-Obeidi said that he believes some of the victims are members of Iraqi security forces who could have been captured when ISIS took a large part of al-Baghdadi last week, BBC News reported on Tuesday.

Obeidi asked the Iraqi government and the international community for help, noting that a compound that houses the families of security personnel and local officials is under attack.

Earlier in February, ISIS militants released a video where they showed Jordanian fighter pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh being burned alive inside a cage.

Kasasbeh’s death sparked outrage around the world, with Jordan’s King Abdullah II vowing “relentless war” on ISIS for its actions.

“We are waging this war to protect our faith, our values and human principles and our war for their sake will be relentless and will hit them in their own ground,” the Jordanian leader said.

American President Barack Obama called the video “just one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization.” He added about the terror group: “Whatever ideology they’re operating off of, it’s bankrupt.”

ISIS has captured a number of towns across Iraq and Syria, and there have been numerous reports of the jihadists carrying out mass executions of captured Iraqi or Syrian soldiers. The terror group has also released a number of videos showing the beheadings of western citizens.

A U.S.-led coalition has struck back with airstrikes against its targets in the region, and a number of other neighboring countries have also carried out military operations against ISIS.

The beheading of 21 Coptic Christians earlier this week prompted Egypt to bomb ISIS camps in Libya, where the murdered Egyptians were initially kidnapped from.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called the militants “inhuman criminal killers,” and said that Egypt has the “right to respond” to such killings.

“Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals,” al-Sisi said.

Al-Baghdadi was one of the only towns to still be under government control in the Anbar province, but has been besieged since January 2014.

Source: Christian Post

 

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