Even though a famous civil rights leader came to Trenton to scold him, Gov. Chris Christie unapologetically defended his recent controversial remarks on civil rights, calling one his New Jersey critics “numbnuts.”

Agitated and at times caustic, the governor went after openly gay Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who had hammered Christie for saying that in the 1950s and 60s activists “would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets of the South.”

Christie was trying to compare his call for a statewide referendum on gay marriage to the civil rights struggle.

“What I said was I’m sure that civil rights advocates would have liked to have this as another option but it was not available to them,” Christie said on Monday (Jan. 30). “Yet you have numbnuts like Reed Gusciora who put out a statement comparing me to George Wallace and Lester Maddox.”

Christie praised legendary civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who held his own Trenton press conference to condemn the governor’s remarks, adding that civil rights never would have won on statewide ballots in the South.

“When it came to the question of interracial marriage, (Martin Luther King) would say races don’t fall in love and get married, individuals fall in love and get married. If two men want to fall in love and get married, if two women — it’s their business. It’s not the role of the federal government or state government to intervene.”

Gusciora said if Christie didn’t like the comparison to two notoriously racist governors, “then he should change his position on marriage equality and sign the bill into law.”

(Matt Friedman and Jenna Portnoy and write for The Star-Ledger in Newark.)

Even as thousands of refugees from Tunisia have fled to a tiny island in Italy, causing dispute among some EU nations, Evangelicals are helping to minister to them by distributing aid and Bibles.

Some 26,000 illegal immigrants from Tunisia crossed the Mediterranean in tiny boats in the last few weeks, causing what some officials in Italy call a “human tsunami,” the AP reported.

Italy has said it will grant six-month permits for residency to the migrants, providing a chance for them to try to settle in neighboring countries through Europe’s visa-free Schengen zone, the AP said.

Not everyone is happy about this. France, in an unprecedented move, set up guards along the Italian border and Germany said it may follow suit, the AP reported. France is only willing to honor permits of those migrants who have evidence of financial resources.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the Tunisians should be repatriated adding, “There is no rule that says that illegal economic migrants should be welcomed here and allowed to travel freely in Europe,” the AP reported.

In response, Italy’s interior minister Roberto Maroni said it seemed pointless to be a part of the EU if the nations within it could not collaborate on this and other issues, the AP said.

Tunisia has undergone great destabilization recently, due to an uprising that culminated last January in deposing its longtime
president, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, the Evangelical Alliance Italy is collaborating with the island’s local authorities in assisting the migrants and helping them in fostering good relations with the local community, Christian Today said.

According to Christian Today, Lampedusa, which is only 75 miles away from the coast of Tunisia, has long been a point of arrival for North African illegal immigrants who are seeking a better life in Europe.

With the unrest that is prevailing in North Africa, some 50,000 migrants are expected to try to enter the island, according to Christian Today. In a statement, the Evangelical Alliance in Italy said this is a great opportunity to share the gospel.

The migrants are willing to risk grave danger to leave their countries. The AP said that last Thursday two women drowned when their boat, loaded with 250 migrants, went off course then landed on Italy’s Pantelleria island.

In another incident, a boat with some 300 illegal immigrants capsized, the AP said, and only 50 of them survived. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is urging Tunisia to take their citizens back.

Christian volunteers are doing what they can for migrants in both Lampedusa and a migrant center in Mineo, Sicily, by providing aid and distributing bibles and Christian literature, Christian Today said.

They are also counseling the migrants and sharing the love of Jesus in suitable ways, Christian Today reported. The alliance is seeking prayer and joint cooperation in cultural mediation and humanitarian assistance, “in the hope that God will open further
Gospel opportunities,” according to Christian Today.

Grammy Award winning singer and bestselling book author Rebecca St. James expressed recently her firm support of a call by Pope Benedict XVI for people around the world to pray against abortion.

St. James, an Australian born singer who now lives in the U.S., has always been outspoken about her pro-life beliefs, and has lent support to Crisis Pregnancy Centers around the country by holding concerts to raise funds and to affirm life, according to Christian Newswire.

Last year St. James starred in the film, Sarah’s Choice, where she played the part of a young career woman who discovers she is pregnant and unmarried, and struggles with the decision on the life of her baby, Christian Newswire said.

The role was very meaningful for St. James, who is also an advocate of abstinence. She told Cross Rhythms, “We live in a very real world where scores of young women every day are being impacted by the heart wrenching issues and life changing choices that my character is suddenly forced to come face to face with. I feel it’s an important film with a Godly message that I am praying will profoundly touch lives.”

Crisis Pregnancy Centers nationwide have been showing the film since its release, to help women deal with very real issues that are present with an unexpected pregnancy, and to explain their pro life message, Christian Newswire reported.

Although St. James is a Protestant, she said that the pope’s call for prayer for the unborn on Nov. 27 is an imperative action that should be done by all people of faith regardless of their denomination, according to Christian Newswire.

She told Christian Newswire, “I applaud Pope Benedict for this call to pray for abortion to end. I applaud him for standing for life with strength, as he continually does, and I respect him and stand with him in this battle against abortion. Abortion not only steals life from an innocent child, but it invariably wounds the mother.”

Additionally, St. James told Christian Newswire, “I dearly hope and pray that Protestants and Catholics alike will draw together in unity, especially as it pertains to protecting life. I, as a Protestant, have been able be partner with many Catholics to promote the pro life message together. It’s a true joy for me to do this.”

St. James is a powerful voice in this call, in light of the extent of international sales of her books and music. Of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, she had said in her website, “These are the real heroes of our time. Every day, 3,300 women wake up believing there is no hope, and they tragically end their pregnancies. But there is hope through the compassionate network of pregnancy centers who are every day empowering women to choose life through their expression of practical support and love.”

International leaders of Christian and Muslim faiths met recently in Switzerland to try to forge an organization geared to thwarting any future crisis that may occur regarding conflict between Christians and Muslims.

The meeting was held from Nov. 1-4 at Geneva’s Ecumenical Center, which houses the World Council of Churches (which organized the meeting) and other Christian organizations, Ecumenical News International said.

Other sponsors of the conference were the Royal Aal Bayt Institute (from Jordan), the World Islamic Call Society (Libya), and “A Common Word” a consortium of Muslim scholars globally, ENI said.

In 2007, “A Common Word” became the title of a revolutionary statement by the consortium of 138 senior Muslim Scholars, which delineated the shared principle of Muslims and Christians of defending the oppressed regardless of religion, the Associated Baptist Press said.

The delegates in Geneva crafted a joint statement on the global rash of conflicts between both faiths, and declared that they would collaborate to try to prevent their recurrence, ENI said.

The joint statement read, “Religion is often invoked in conflict creation, even when other factors, such as unfair resource allocation, oppression, occupation and injustice, are the real roots of conflict,” according to ENI.

The statement continued, “The basis of our faiths, as expressed in the call to get to know each other and the two commandments to love God and to love the neighbor provide a solid ground for our common responsibility to act and address common concerns,” ENI reported.

The meeting took place even as a Christian cathedral in Iraq was attacked, resulting in 52 dead and 67 wounded. (See http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/11/iraqi-cardinal-condemns-bloody-ruthless-attack-on-landmark-church-14305).

The delegates condemned the attack as an “inhumane act that contradicts all religious teachings.” They also censured “any criminal act that goes against the right to live in dignity and freedom of worship and of religion,” Associated Baptist Press reported.

The statement came on the heels of a declaration by leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq that Christian organizations in their land are “legitimate targets” for holy war, according to the Associated Baptist Press.

Other themes during the four-day meet focused on “moving beyond categories of majority and minority, from conflict toward compassionate justice and forward in education as a path to understanding, cooperation and shared citizenship,” the Associated Baptist Press said.

The joint statement recommended that the leaders set forth a joint project where participants of both faiths may share their experiences of living in a pluralistic society, and studying best practices in interfaith dialogue and collaboration, the Associated Baptist Press said.

Also discussed were environmental issues, climate change, and conflicts with regard to differences in ethnicity and religion, according to the Associated Baptist Press.

Christian leaders expressed support recently for President Barack Obama’s call for immigration reform.

Recently, Hispanic and African-American pastors coalesced including the National Baptist Convention, USA; Esperanza for America; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; and the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Christian Post said.

Christian Leaders support Obama’s call for immigration reform

Derrick Harkins, 19th Street Baptist Church senior pastor in Washington D.C. said, “Immigrants are not taking our jobs or public resources. The reality is that we are unified across ethnic and racial lines. We will not waver as we pursue justice on this human rights issue of our day,” the Christian Post said.

 Conservative white evangelical leaders, among the strongest Republican Party supporters, stood behind Obama as he addressed the issue at the American University, the Christian Post said.

Obama was introduced by Rev. Bill Hybels, senior pastor of the 12,000-member Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago. In the audience were Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Christian Post said.

Anderson and Land support an earned pathway for immigrants already in the country but without documents. In a statement last May they said, “Let us be clear – an earned pathway to citizenship is not amnesty,” the Christian Post said.

An earned pathway includes allowing legal residency if one has a job and pays back taxes. A CNN poll showed this is supported by 80 percent of Americans, the Christian Post said.

In his speech Obama urged Congress to pass comprehensive legislation that will create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. He described the current system as “fundamentally broken,” Fox News said.

Obama also said the Arizona law passed by Governor Jan Brewer is “divisive” and “ill-conceived.” The law requires Arizona police to ask anyone on the streets who they find suspicious to produce their immigration papers, even if they stopped them for other reasons, Fox News said.

Recently Brewer released a campaign ad telling Obama, “Do your job. Secure our borders,” while standing beside new Arizona border signs that read, “Danger-Public Warning. Travel Not Recommended,” the New York Daily News said.

Brewer claimed the signs are Obama’s response to a meeting they had. However, the Bureau of Land Management said local rangers put up the signs, the New York Daily News said

Brewer asked Obama for 6,000 National Guard troops on the Arizona border, New York Daily News said. Obama approved 524 troops, a record high, Fox News said. Brewer is up for reelection this fall, the New York Daily News said.

In his speech Obama said, “Reform that brings accountability to our immigration system cannot pass without Republican votes,” the Christian Post said. Obama said that mass deportation is “logistically impossible and wildly expensive,” Fox News said. It is estimated that there are some 11 to 12 million immigrants without documents in the United States, the Christian Post said.

Obama said, “I’m ready to move forward, the majority of Democrats are ready to move forward and I believe the majority of Americans are ready to move forward. But the fact is that without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem,” the Christian Post said.

The World Religions Summit will be held in Winnipeg, Canada this month–just before the G8 and G20 summits.

Religious leaders are holding it so they can formulate a call urging the G8 to stay true to its first calling to aid the poorest and most defenseless communities in the world, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.

The WRS, which will gather some 80 religious leaders from around the world on June 21-23, also aims to formulate strategies to drive home messages of compassion and hope to those most disenfranchised, the Winnipeg Free Press said.

They have been meeting since 2005 with the intention to parallel the G8 and to complement the world economic summit.  This is the first time it will be hosted in Canada, the Winnipeg Free Press said.

The G8 and G20, which will meet in Muskoka and Toronto on June 25-27, will include President Barack Obama, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao, The International said.

Primary on the G8 agenda is the global economy.  They will discuss how to revive the economy and devise measures to prevent such reoccurrence in the future. The G8 is comprised of government heads from Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Japan, The United Kingdom and The United States.

However, a representative from The European Union will also be in attendance, the International said.

Five leaders from the top growing countries–India, China, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa–have also been invited by the G8, after which they will participate with the remainder of the G20 Summit, The International said.

Comprised of the 20 largest economies in the world, the G20 is credited with 85 percent of the world’s GNP and was organized in 1999 during the Asian financial crisis, The International said.

The WRS will explore religious freedom, human rights, poverty elimination, environmental stewardship, peace and security. Guest speakers include Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire (who foresaw the Rwandan genocide but was unheeded) and Rev.  Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine, who is widely known in the USA for his advocacy of social justice, the Winnipeg Free Press said.