Pope Benedict XVI confirmed today that he will travel to Cuba and Mexico next year.

“Supported by divine Providence, I have the intention to make an apostolic trip to Mexico and Cuba before Easter,” he said at the end of his homily during a special Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the independence of Latin American countries.

According to reports in South American news outlets, the visit will occur March 23-29.

The Vatican’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the trip would coincide with the 400th anniversary of the image of the Virgin of Charity, the patroness of Cuba.

Lombardi had also warned that the pope would not travel to Mexico City as the city’s high altitude made it an “inadvisable” destination for the 84-year-old pope.

Benedict said he hoped his trip would contribute to the construction of a society “rooted in the development of the common good, the triumph of love and the spread of justice.”

After a historic visit by the late Pope John Paul II in 1998, relations between the Vatican and Cuba’s communist regime have improved in recent years. This year church officials helped secure the release of 115 political prisoners who left Cuba to go into exile in Spain.

The Vatican ambassador to Cuba, Monsignor Giovanni Angelo Becciu, a key figure in Vatican dialogue with the Castro regime, was promoted last May to the No. 2 position in the Vatican’s Secretariate of State.

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A new study of Evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom showed recently that more than half of total respondents support the Allied intercession in Libya, but three-fourths were against the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The study, Does Belief Touch Society? was conducted by the Evangelical Alliance and Christian Research, to help provide a more comprehensive profile of U.K. Evangelical Christians in the 21^st century.

The survey was conducted online with over 1,000 Christian respondents hailing from various denominations including Charismatics, Methodists, Anglicans, Free Evangelicals, Pentecostals and the Church of Scotland.

The study follows up the breakthrough 21^st Century Evangelicals Survey conducted last year with some 17,000 respondents. Both studies are designed to look into Evangelicals’ behavior, habits, practices and beliefs.

Steve Clifford, general director of Evangelical Alliance said in the study’s introduction, “We hope that this report, by holding up a mirror, will inspire us to seek — and be certain of — God’s truth in our lives and our communities.”

Demographics

The respondents to the study are a balanced representation gender-wise and come from a wide range of churches. However, limitations to the study are the under-representation of ethnic minorities and youth. Most respondents are highly educated. Because of the study’s limitations, only raw figures were presented.

The study’s validity lies in its contribution to the unfolding of a full census of U.K. evangelicals that may, in due time, provide a more nationally-representative demographic.

Findings revealed the following:

Faith

Most evangelicals overwhelmingly prescribe to the central Christian belief of Jesus’ death for the sins of all men and his resurrection. Furthermore:

• 99 percent believe the message of the cross changed their lives.
• 91 percent believe Jesus rose with a physical body from the dead.
• 85 percent strongly believe that Christians have eternal life.
• 82 percent strongly believe the resurrection shapes how they live now.
• 78 percent strongly believe that they will have eternal life after they die.

Practice:

•  95 percent went to church on Easter Sunday, but only 65% went to church on Good Friday.
• 57 percent go to churches that participated in inter-church activities during Easter.
• 41 percent participated in an evangelical activity over Easter.
• 23 percent visited friends, family, or went on holiday during Easter.

Public life

The study showed that most respondents are active participants in public life, with one-fourth of the total being trustees in a registered charity, nine percent serving as school governors, and four in 100 being with a political party. Nine out of 10 respondents voted in the AV referendum (compared to the national turnout of 42 percent).

Clifford said, of the findings, “There is much to celebrate in this report. Evangelical Christians are not bystanders. We are actively involved in our communities. But yet we must also rise to the challenge presented to us by some of these figures.”

To download the complete study, go to http://www.eauk.org/snapshot/does-belief-touch-society.cfm.

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The White House said recently that it was regrettable that an Evangelical leader would make absurd claims on Easter Sunday about issues that had long been belied.

Jay Carney, White House spokesman, said remarks by Evangelical leader Franklin Graham suggesting that President Barack Obama may have been born in a country other than the U.S. are unbelievable and sad, the New York Daily News said.

Carney said, “I think it’s unfortunate that a religious leader would choose Easter Sunday to make preposterous charges,” according to the New York Daily News.

Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, was responding to a question from Christiane Amanpour, who asked the son of Billy Graham if he was bothered by questions that have been raised by “Birthers,” Christianity Today said.

Graham replied, “Well, the president, I know, has some issues to deal with here. He can solve this whole birth certificate issue pretty quickly. I don’t—I was born in a hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, and I know that my records are there. You can probably even go and find out what room my mother was in when I was born. I don’t know why he can’t produce that. So, I’m not—I don’t know, but it’s an issue that looks like he could answer pretty quickly,” Christianity Today reported.

Graham told Christianity Today that the ABC program where he questioned Obama’s birth had actually been taped one week before Easter, and that his statements were merely in response to questions he had been asked.

Graham told Christianity Today, “I’m not going out making speeches about where the President was born. I could care less. I’ll continue to answer reporters’ questions.”

His statements however reflected that of Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn) who also suggested that Obama should produce a birth certificate. A few days afterwards, George Stephanopoulos of ABC presented Obama’s birth certificate to Bachmann. She replied, “Well, then, that should settle it,” Christianity Today reported.

Obama had actually released his birth certificate as early as 2008 when he was campaigning for the presidency, the New York Daily News said.

Despite this, rumors of Obama’s birth continue to float with some saying he was born in Kenya, and others saying he was born in Indonesia or the U.K. According to the president’s birth certificate, he was born in Hawaii, New York Daily News reported.

The “issue” of Obama’s birth has been noisily banded about of late by Donald Trump, who is posturing to run for the presidency as a Republican candidate. Graham told Christianity Today that he sees Trump as a viable candidate.

Graham told Christianity Today, “Donald Trump, when I first saw that he was getting in, I thought, well, this has got to be a joke. But the more you listen to him, the more you say to yourself, ‘You know? Maybe the guy’s right.’”

Other candidates that get Graham’s nod are Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin. Graham told Christianity Today,
“We’ve got to have some new leadership, new Republicans, more Tea Party people.”

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The 42^nd Annual Gospel Music Association Dove Awards was held last Wednesday before a full-capacity Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and will be aired at 7 p.m. this Easter Sunday.

The Dove Awards, which was hosted by Sherri Shepherd of The View, honored the veterans of gospel music, even as it acknowledged the new crop of young talents, watchgmctv.com reported.

The top winner of the night was Francesca Battistelli, 25, who won Artist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the year (for the second time), and Pop/Contemporary song of the Year for Beautiful, Beautiful, watchgmctv.com said.

Battistelli told the audience, “This is amazing. I don’t know what to say. Thank you to the Lord. He’s the reason we’re all here. Thank you guys for supporting Christian music,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Another artist who won three Doves is singer/songwriter Chris August, who was Male Vocalist of the year, New Artist of the Year, and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for No Far Away, watchgmctv.com said.

August said, “I literally can’t believe it. As a Christian, I’m humbled. You don’t look for awards. You just want to make music and serve Jesus, but as a person who has been working at music for many years, to finally have someone say ‘hey, you did a great job on something and here’s an award for it…’ that’s a pretty cool feeling,” Watchgmctv.com reported.

Jason Crabb also capped the night with three Dove Awards, as did Point of Grace, the AJC said. The Group of the Year Award went to NEEDTOBREATHE, the Baptist Press said.

Not bleeped

Shepherd, who hosted the show, told AJC that it will be a nice change for her to be able to praise God and not be bleeped. “I love the Lord. I truly, truly love the Lord and I love following Him,” the co-host of The View said.

Shepherd told AJC that she is a great fan of Christian music, favoring Mary Mary, Franklin and TobyMac. She also has a soft spot for Natalie Grant, whose song Held helped her survive the near death of her prematurely born son.

Shepherd told AJC, “Music can renew your faith and uplift you more than words can. This music has gotten me through some stuff. I can’t believe God is so good.”

Special honors

A special tribute was given to Sandi Patty for her lifetime achievements, through a rendition of her songs performed by Battistelli, Grant and Audrey Assad, Baptist Press said.

Patty said, “I was sitting there thinking there has been a lot of life lived since the beginning. I understand God’s grace and His forgiveness in a way that perhaps when I won my first Dove Award 30 years ago I didn’t understand,” Baptist Press reported.

Also highlighted during the show was Steven Curtis Chapman, who with wife Mary Beth has worked hard to promote adoption and orphan care. Curtis performed with Mac Powell of Third Day, and Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, singing Children of God, an adoption-themed song, Baptist Press said.

Another key performance during the program was that of Kenny Rogers who sang The Rock of Your Love together with Point of Grace, the Baptist Press reported.

Presenters include NFL stars Greg Jennings of the Green Bay Packers and Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos. Tebow told AJC that meeting some of his favorite musicians was “definitely inspiring.”

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A Christian pastor wrote in his newly-released book that Christians should celebrate Easter outside the church rather than just within it.

Rev. Eric Foley, pastor of Doers of The Word Evangelical Church (with branches in Colorado Springs and Seoul, Korea) says in his book, The Whole Life Offering:   Christianity as Philanthropy that from a biblical point of view, Easter is best celebrated on the road, Christian Newswire said.

Foley, who is also co-founder and CEO of Seoul, USA, takes a deep look into Christian history, Scripture and Protestant theology. He says in his book that making one’s life an offering to God is characterized by being soaked in grace, in this way empowering one’s Christian discipleship, according to the book’s website.

In so doing one achieves full maturity in the faith. The website says, “[G]rowing to full maturity in Christ isn’t only possible; it is God’s intended purpose for every Christian, right here on earth in the midst of everyday life.”

In the first chapter Foley says the book’s goal is “[T]o enable the philanthropy of Christ to be magnified more fully in the life of the reader, and to equip the reader to mirror that philanthropy more fully into the lives of others as a continual act of worship.”

Foley adds, “The Whole Life Offering is Christ’s philanthropy. He pours the fullness of his life into any who will receive it. Those who receive it are enabled and authorized to share the length and breadth of it with others,” the website says.

Foley says, “Whether it’s the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus or the apostles who are called out of the Upper Room and on to Galilee, the Easter message is clear: If you want to meet Jesus, hit the road,” Christian Newswire reported.

Foley writes in his book about seven spiritual disciplines that enhance loving God, and 10 outreach disciplines to strengthen loving one’s neighbor. Easter Sunday, he adds, is the perfect time to practice both branches of loving, Christian Newswire said.

The seven spiritual disciplines are called Works of Piety, while the 10 outreach disciplines are anchored on these. Foley says in the website, “We find not only what we should be doing in order to love our neighbors, but how to do it to the glory and praise of God.”  The Whole Life Offering can be purchased either at Amazon or at the book’s website, www.thewholelifeoffering.com, according to Christian Newswire.

Foley’s church, Doers of the Word meets via satellite in Seoul, Korea and Colorado Springs, Colorado. In the last 20 years Foley has trained some 1,300 church leaders on volunteerism and socially oriented programs, the website said.

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Greg Laurie, multi-awarded author and pastor of one of the first megachurches, released recently his newest book, Road to Resurrection.

Road to Resurrection is timely with the Easter season. Laurie investigates with great depth and comprehension the death and resurrection of Jesus, showing how it has been pivotal to the world, even as the reader gains a deeper appreciation of the meaning of the celebration, according to Harvest Resources.

Laurie’s new book also serves as a guidebook about the historical context of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Included is a timeline of the first Easter that contains an examination of the prophecies that came hundreds of years before, and the people and places during the crucifixion, plus a factual explanation of what happened after Jesus’ resurrection, Harvest Resources reports.

Through the book the reader comes to appreciate the ridicule, anguish, pain and death Jesus endured for all people, and understands the call for pure worship as the appropriate response to the sacrifice of Christ, Harvest Resources says.

In the flyleaf of Laurie’s new book it says, “For three days after the Crucifixion, the disciples were dismayed, the religious leaders rested in victory, and Jesus Christ lay dead and buried in a dark garden tomb.

But early Sunday morning, the angel proclaimed the victorious words: “He has risen!” The message behind these words provides power to Christianity, freedom from sin, and joy to followers of Christ.”

Laurie’s book examines how Easter is about a life-changing experience, and dwells on the message of hope that it brings for all people. But he also talks about how Jesus’ death and resurrection had been prophesied in the Old Testament hundreds of years before, making this a pivotal event for the world.

Laurie also writes about what Jesus said when he was on the cross, the details of Easter morning, the appearances Jesus made to people after his resurrection, and the birth of the church.

Laurie’s own life is a testament to the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Born out of wedlock to a mother who was an alcoholic and who had married seven times, Laurie’s life took a pivotal turn when he came to know Jesus in a personal way. His story is told in his autobiography, Lost Boy: The Next Chapter, the website says.

The autobiography was made in DVD form and won Best Documentary awards at the 2009 International Film Festival South Africa, the 2009 Riverside International Film Festival and the 2009 International Christian Film Festival, according to his website.

The DVD also was a finalist in the 2010 International Christian Film Festival (UK), the 2009 Long Island International Film Expo, the 2009 International Film Festival Ireland and the 2009 International Film Festival Wales, the website said.

Laurie is the pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California. He also founded Harvest Crusades, an evangelistic outreach component that was begun in 1990, and which has brought more than four million souls to Jesus Christ through outreaches around the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, according to his website.

Laurie also hosts the radio program, A New Beginning which is syndicated nationwide and has up to three million listeners daily.

Road to Resurrection would be a great way to explore the miracle of Easter, and to strengthen and enhance one’s own personal relationship with God.

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The European Commission’s Christmas gift to students this year was copies of Agenda Europa, a diary for the year 2011—except that it didn’t mark Dec. 25 as Christmas, a Christian holiday.

Instead, the section dated Dec. 25 is blank and on the bottom is a secular message: “A true friend is someone who shares your concerns and will double your joy,” The Telegraph reported.

According to The Telegraph, 330,000 copies of the diary were given to British students (a total of 3 million were printed). It has references to Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, Chinese and Jewish holidays, May 9 is labeled as Europe Day, and there are 51 glossy pages of information about the EU. But there is no mention of Christmas, Easter or any Christian holiday.

Euro Scrooges

Laurent Wauquiez raised the issue at a press briefing, AFP reported. “Are we ashamed of our Christian identity? Are we ashamed that the Europe of church towers was the base of our European identity?” Wauquiez asked.

However Wauquiez did not demand that the diary, which has already been sent to schools across the 27 EU countries, be recalled, the AFP said. Instead, he called for a correction in next year’s diary.

 Martin Callanan of the European Conservatives said, “Given that 2010 was the year when the EU was haunted by its own ghosts of the past, present and future, it comes as no surprise that the commission is turning into a bunch of Euro Scrooges,” The Telegraph reported.

Callanan then asked, “Why is the commission spending money sending calendars to millions of schoolchildren in the first place? I’m sure that the children could manage without a present of this nature,” according to The Telegraph.

 “Blunder”

Frederic Vincent, commission spokesman in Brussels, apologized for the “blunder” and said it wouldn’t happen again. Future editions may eliminate all mentions of religion. Vincent said, “We’re sorry about it, and we’ll correct that in next edition. Religious holidays may not be mentioned at all to avoid any controversy,” AFP reported.

Spokesman Johanna Touzel of the Catholic Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community said the error is “just astonishing. Christmas and Easter are important feasts for hundreds of millions of Christians and Europeans. It is a strange omission. I hope it was not intentional,” AFP reported.

Touzel dded, “If the commission does not mark Christmas as a feast in its diaries then it should be working as normal on December 25,” according to the AFP.

Pope Benedict XVI, in an address to the diplomatic corps at the Vatican, lashed out earlier this week at the failure of secular governments to recognize Christian religious days in the hope of not offending religious minorities.

Benedict decried the increasing “tendency to consider religion, all religion, as something insignificant, alien or even destabilizing to modern society.” Benedict also warned of attempts “to prevent it from having any influence on the life of society,” LifeSiteNews reported.

Last year the EU also came under fire when its Christmas card didn’t make any reference to the birth of Jesus Christ. Instead, it read “Season’s greetings,” The Way reported.

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The Jewish holiday of Passover for 2010 begins at sundown on Monday and lasts the next seven days. It is the celebration of the Israelites coming out of slavery in Egypt.

A properly set Passover Seder table. The Haggadah book is in foreground.

The biblical event takes place in Exodus 10 through 13 in the Old Testament.

God instructed the Jewish people to mark their doorposts with lamb’s blood so He would “pass over” them when slaying the first born of Egypt (the last of the “10 Plagues” causing Pharoah to release them from bondage).

Many Christian churches have begun incorporating a Passover “Seder” (say-der, meaning service) into their activities around Easter.

Passover is what Jesus and the apostles were celebrating at the Last Supper, because they were Jewish men with Jewish observances:

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord – a lasting ordinance.” (Exodus 12:14)

“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.  Jesus sent Peter and John, saying ‘go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.’” (Luke 22:7-8)

Passover is also celebrated by “Jewish believers” – Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah of both the Jews and Christians. Psalm 22; Isaiah 11:1, 7:14; Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 1:1-16, 21:7; Mark 15; John 3:16 are a few parallel passages in the Old and New Testament supporting this belief.

Jesus’ Hebrew name is “Yeshua” – the Lord saves. Jewish believers attend Messianic Synagogues or Christian churches.

How is Passover celebrated?
The opening night Passover Service (“seder”) is usually held in family homes or in unison as entire congregations. A large meal is served, with some items representing the hardships faced in Egypt and in the desert.

Prior to the meal, attendees read from the Haggadah, which is the re-telling of the Exodus story. The Haggadah has existed for about 300 years and includes songs about the sacrificial lamb and the escape via the Red Sea.

How does the perspective differ for Christians and Messianic Jewish believers?
The story of the Exodus remains the same. But countless parallels exist for Christians and Jewish believers between the lambs sacrificed in the Old Testament, and Jesus as the “Ultimate Sacrifice.”

There are also striking prophetic similarities between the first Passover dinner in the book of Exodus, present-day Jewish Passover activities, and what Jesus did at the Last Supper:

• The Jews were told to take only unleavened bread on their journey.-Jesus broke unleavened bread with the disciples.
• The ceremony contains glasses of wine as an honor to the lamb’s blood and sweat of the Jews.-Jesus offered the disciples wine as a symbol of his blood, yet to be shed.
• The “matzo” crackers (today’s symbol of the Israelites’ unleavened bread) are dipped in bitter herbs and eaten to represent sorrow and hard labor.-The disciples dipped and ate unleavened bread to represent Jesus’ body.
• Lamb’s blood was shed at the first Passover to save the Jews from the plagues and free them from a seemingly never-ending bondage.-Jesus was “sacrificed” (crucified) soon after he celebrated Passover at the Last Supper.  His blood was shed to save us from our sins and free us from eternal death.
• The ceremonial matzo (“Afikomen”) is hidden under a cushion, not to be seen until the end, when the children uncover it and bring it out.-Jesus was entombed and wasn’t seen again for three days. At the end of three days he is seen alive outside by  the women, having shed his wrappings.
• There are 3 matzohs separated in different folds of a napkin, used in the ceremony at various intervals.-Jesus was born, died, and rose again. (3 stages).

About the author: Sheryl Young is a Jewish believer in Jesus and author of “What Every Christian Should Know about the Jewish People: Improving the Church’s Relationship with God’s Original Chosen Nation.” The book contains more information on Jewish Holidays.)

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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