China: Wife of an Underground Protestant Pastor Buried Alive During Demolition of Church

  (Beijing) Ding Cumei is the wife of Protestant underground pastor Li Jiangog.  The couple was desperate to prevent the destruction of their official Church in the People's Republic of China. One of the workers had been given instructions: "Bury them. I'll take responsibility."  The pastor's wife died under the rubble of the church demolished by demolition excavators. Her husband was still able to get out of the rubble.

The gruesome murder took place last April 14 in Zhumadian, Henan Province. Local police arrested two construction workers. Details were not disclosed. The authorities seem to want to avoid any "damaged image" by a cover-up of the bloody incident.

Pastor Li Jiangong and his wife Ding saw the excavator roll in, which had been commissioned by the government to tear down their church. An investor had expressed an interest for the land on which the church stood.

The couple stood against the demolition excavators. A worker  ordered his team "to bury" them. .According to eyewitnesses, the backhoe operator had pushed the couple into a pit which was then filled with demolition material and earth. Pastor Li was able to free himself, but could not come to the rescue of his wife. 

Ever since the Communist authorities launched an anti-Christianity campaign in 2013 of "urban cleansing" and "economic improvement", 1,700 Christian symbols and dozens of churches have been destroyed just in Zhejiang Province. Church destruction also occurred in the provinces of Hebei, Hubei and Henan. In spring 2013 Xia Baolong, the Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province, declared that there are "too many crosses."

Christians see a Kulturkampf of the communist regime against Christianity which has  experienced significant growth by conversions in the region.

Text: Asianews / Giuseppe Nardi 
Image: Difesa del Popolo (screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

LInk to Katholisches....

AMDG

75 of 100 victims of religious intolerance are Christians - Metropolitan Hilarion

Moscow, March 24, Interfax - Head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion cited data according to which Christians prevail among victims of religious intolerance.

"According to the data of non-governmental organization Aid To The Church In Need 75 of 100 victims killed from religious intolerance have been Christians in recent years," the Metropolitan said in his interview to Izvestia daily on Thursday.

The Metropolitan points out that in the majority of states where Christian minority is being persecuted, Christians have lived for many centuries, "even when local political regimens declared themselves more radical than today."

"It is today when all states have undertaken obligations to protect human rights, outflow of Christians from certain countries has increased. I believe it proves the failure of modern world policy on religious freedom and lack of interest to religious education," the Metropolitan said.

According to him, Christians are often fell victims of political mistakes made by Western states.

"The situation is difficult in Iraq. According to some data, half of 1,4 million Christian population has left the country since 2003. Without giving any evaluations to political situation in Iraq before NATO interference, I'd like to mention that Christians there were not physically exterminated. Foreign military invasion has made many Christians hostages of insufficiently considered NATO actions," the Metropolitan said.

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Marking week of prayer, Benedict XVI cites four 'pillars' for Christian unity

Vatican City, Jan 19, 2011 / 12:55 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Improving the unity of Christians today requires the same elements that united the first apostles in Jerusalem, Pope Benedict XVI said Jan. 19.

Pope Benedict met with pilgrims to Rome in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall for his weekly general audience. In observation of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan. 18-25), he based his message on "the gift of full communion."

Christians take part in the week of prayer for unity "to bear witness to the profound ties that unite them and to invoke the gift of full communion," said the Pope.

"They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" is the theme of this year's prayer week for the unity of Christians. Pope Benedict said that this passage from the Acts of the Apostles offers a vision of four characteristics that defined the first Christian community in Jerusalem "as a place of unity and love."

In the teaching of the apostles, in fraternal communion, in the breaking of bread and in prayer are four "pillars" that continue to be the foundation of Christian life and build Church unity, he explained.

Every effort to increase unity must involve increased faithfulness to the teaching of the first Christians, the apostles, the Pope said. "Even today," he explained, "the community of believers recognizes the norms of its own faith in that reference to the teaching of the Apostles."

Fraternal communion was "the most tangible expression of unity between disciples and the Lord, especially for the outside world," he pointed out.

Read More: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/marking-week-of-prayer-benedict-xvi-cites-four-pillars-for-christian-unity/

EGYPT: Death of church-bombing suspect while in police custody prompts protests

The death in police custody of a suspect in the New Year's Eve bombings that left 25 Coptic Christians dead and scores injured in Alexandria, Egypt, has triggered demonstrations in the most populous Arab country. Protesters have criticized Interior Minister Habib Adli over what they called the ministry's "brutal treatment and torture" of suspects

Read More: http://news.beiruter.com/node/90446

Egypt's New Televangelist

HEART AND SOUL
By Magdi Abdelhadi
Arab Affairs Analyst, BBC World Service

Amr Khaled's unique brand of Muslim preaching has made him one of the most popular preachers in the world.

Such is his appeal, he was recently named the 13th most influential person in the world by Time Magazine.

In Cairo, his DVDs stand on the top shelves reserved for best sellers in the Virgin record store, next to Bruce Willis and Charlie Chaplin.

His controversial style, comparable to the almost rock star approach of some of America's Christian evangelists, has drawn criticism from the religious establishment and he has moved away from his native Egypt.

Ironically, thanks to the proliferation of satellite channels, he is now able to reach far greater numbers than he could have ever done had his message remained within the confines of a mosque or a lecture hall.

'You're fired'

Now, following on from his hugely successful TV shows - which are watched by millions across the world - Mr Khaled plans to launch his own version of the reality television show The Apprentice.

"The aim of it is not to make money, but to make the youth ready to support the society," he told the BBC.

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