Rob Flello told Premier on Wednesday that he was deselected from standing in the election after the party learnt about his views on gay marriage and abortion.

But the party claims it wasn’t his views, but instead how he expressed those views on social media.

At an event on Thursday launching the Lib Dems’ plans for equality and human rights, Baroness Sal Brinton, the President of the Liberal Democrats and also a Christian, told Premier there are pro-life politicians who do not express their views in the same way as Mr Flello.

She said: “The issue about voting matters on moral issues are very clear and, in common with other parties, we don’t have a whip on those. I think the difficulty that our candidates team hadn’t picked up was his language and retweeting on social media, which went beyond the sort of dialogue that you would expect from a liberal.

“We absolutely understand and respect the right of every Christian to have their views, but many Christians follow slightly different pathways, slightly different interpretations. As a Liberal Democrat, we expect tolerance and understanding of the other side and unfortunately some of the things that Rob had retweeted went beyond that and would absolutely not be seen as something that Liberals should do.”

When asked which retweets barred him from standing for…

Christian Ricardo Fernandez Izaguirre handed himself in to Camagüey police on Tuesday after receiving a verbal summons from the authorities.

According to reports from local journal ‘La Hora de Cuba,’ family members and friends gathered outside the station after hearing nothing from him since he was placed in custody.

Officers told the group Izaguirre was being investigated and would be held incommunicado for four days but refused to give any further information on his detainment or his well-being.

When Izaguirre’s wife, Yusleysi Gil Mauricio, entered the station to ask about the charges against him, she was reportedly “threatened and insulted” by three state agents, and told her husband would be “judged for being a counter-revolutionary”.

Izaguirre who has documented over 60 violations of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) this year, was previously detained for four days in July, after meeting with members of the Ladies in White movement – who have been forcibly detained and prevented from attending church services and other religious activities by state authorities.

Speaking to freedom chairty Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) after the incident, Izaguirre reported that he was “freed without any explanation – just as they had arrested me”.

Government attacks on FoRB and pressure on religious leaders have increased significantly since the adoption of a new…

Partners will be able to tie the knot from early next year following a major liberalisation of the law surrounding gay unions.

More than 1,200 couples in Northern Ireland who already have civil partnerships will not be able to convert to full married status in the New Year under official proposals, lobbyists said.

Parliament forced ministers to introduce the change and more public consultation by the Government is due to clarify issues.

Cara McCann, who entered a civil partnership with her partner Amanda McGurk earlier this year, said: “Just a few weeks ago, I sat in a room in Stormont House with Government ministers and officials and was told that I could become a married woman in the New Year.

“Now the Government has changed its mind.

“Our campaign for equal marriage has always been about rejecting second-class citizenship. We have already won our campaign in Parliament.

“Now we will go to court to ensure the government does not escape its legal obligation.”

Amanda McGurk (left) and Cara McCann, a couple in a civil partnership who want to convert to full married status, speaking at a press conference in Belfast. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday November 14, 2019. Same-sex marriage campaigners in Northern Ireland are to launch legal action against alleged Government delay.

The Northern Ireland Executive…

The evangelist tweeted on Wednesday that it was a ‘day of shame for America’ as the first public hearing in the impeachment inquiry has got under way in Washington.

He also urged Christians to pray for the nation’s leader.

It’s a day of shame for America. The media is calling the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry “historic;” and it is—historically shameful. That our politicians would bring this kind of harm to our country with the world watching is unbelievable. 1/2

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) November 13, 2019

As Christians, as those who follow and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, let us pray throughout the day and all of these proceedings. Pray for our nation, pray for our leaders, and pray for @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. 2/2

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) November 13, 2019

 The president thanked Rev Graham for his support. 

Thank you @FranklinGraham. It is a time of “shame” for our Country. The Democrats know what they are doing is wrong! https://t.co/O32ybh04vc

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 14, 2019

On Wednesday Mr Trump said he was “too busy” doing the people’s business to watch the impeachment hearings that imperil his presidency.

The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine William Taylor and career Foreign Service officer George Kent, center, testify before the House Intelligence…

The charity announced on 30th October that it was giving away 1,000 free Bibles as Kanye West’s first Christian album Jesus is King released the week prior sparked many of Google searches about Christianity.

The American Bible Society has now said it has received 6,000 requests for the free Bibles, so it has now multiplied its giveaway offer and will continue to accept requests until 22nd November.

John Farquhar Plake, director of ministry intelligence at the American Bible Society, said in a statement to the Christian Post: “We couldn’t be more thrilled at this unexpected demand.

“When we saw Google searches for Kanye, Jesus, and Bible spike, we saw an opportunity – but we never could have dreamed that we’d get such an overwhelming response.

“Our hope is that these Bibles will allow Kanye fans to get to know the extraordinary person of Jesus, who inspires not just musicians, but millions of believers around the world.”

The program called “Bibles for Kanye Fans” is giving away copies of the Good News Translation for those who apply on American Bible Society’s website.

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The Pope said: “I would like to make a separate note. The Jewish people have suffered so much in history, they have been chased away, they too have been persecuted.

“In the last century we saw so many brutalities against the Jewish people, and we were all convinced that this was over. But today the habit of persecuting the Jews, brothers and sisters, is here reborn. This is neither human nor Christian.”

He continued: “The Jews are our brothers and should not be persecuted, understand?”

His comments come after a reported significant rise in antisemitic attacks in Italy, particularly online.

“Since the beginning of the year to the end of September, we recorded about 190 anti-Semitic incidents, about 70 per cent online,” according to Milan based Foundation Jewish Contemporary Documentation Centre. The total incidents for the whole of last year were 197 and 130 for 2017.

A recent survey by ComRes last year showed that antisemitic stereotypes were alive and well in Europe with more than a quarter of Europeans polled believing Jews had too much influence in business and finance.

Meanwhile, a third of Europeans in the poll said they knew just a little or nothing at all about the Holocaust, the mass murder of some six million Jews in lands controlled by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian…

Tirham (whose name has been changed for security reasons), an Open Doors partner, provides counselling to women and girls who have been raped, kidnapped and/or used as sex slaves by Boko Haram fighters or Fulani militants. Many of them are specifically targeted for kidnapping because of their faith.

“So many things happen today that people outside Nigeria don’t really believe are happening, like many women being kidnapped, raped, some of them being killed. It’s clear to us but to the outside world it’s hidden,” Tirham said.

“Everywhere, people are attacked by armed robbers, kidnappers, Fulani militants and Boko Haram fighters. It feels like everybody is walking in a minefield and, at any moment, there might be an explosion. People carry hurt and wounds on their hearts and they need to be cared for.”

Tirham works with women who have suicidal thoughts because, after being freed by their kidnappers, they are often not accepted back by their families and communities. Without support, they cannot cope with the double trauma of being kidnapped and then rejected.

Tirham will testify to the stigma these women and girls face upon their return and share stories about how trauma care has helped survivors overcome this. She will also talk about the work Open Doors partners do to change the mind-set of husbands and communities from that of stigma to support.

The trauma care…

Abuse of children for reasons of faith or belief rose from 1,460 cases in 2016/17 to 1,950 cases in 2018/19 – an increase of 34 per cent.

The figures were published by the Local Government Association and are based on safeguarding assessment data from local authorities passed to the Department of Education.

Abuse can be driven by a belief the child is possessed by demons or the devil or is the reason for some misfortune to befall a family, or to terrorise the child into compliance when being trafficked.

The new figures also revealed the number of girls identified by social workers as either having had or being at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) reached a high of 1,000 cases this year.

It is an increase of 6 per cent on the 940 cases in 2017/18.

A belief in witchcraft and the perpetuation of FGM can sometimes be linked, although experts emphasise this is by no means true in the majority of mutilation cases.

The National FGM Centre has been conducting research and providing education and training into faith-based abuse since its inception in 2015.

Leethen Bartholomew, the centre’s head, told the PA news agency: “We know [faith-based] abuse is often linked to when families experience some kind of misfortune – whether it is a child with a disability or parental mental health, or when some of these families experience exclusion because of poverty.

“They try to make…