Campus Crusade for Christ announced recently in a conference in Colorado that it has officially changed its name to Cru.

The 60-year-old ministry made the announcement before some 5,000 staff members during its U.S. biennial staff conference which was held in Ft.Collins, Colo.

The new name, which will be assumed in 2012, was chosen from a list of 1,600 possible names, and was picked because it had already been informally adopted on U.S. campuses since the 1990s.

Overcoming misconceptions

It is hoped that with the new name Cru will succeed in overcoming misconceptions and other barriers that came to be associated with the old name. This is particularly important with the current rise of volunteerism that has been taking place among young Christians.

Steve Sellers, vice president of U.S. Cru, told Boston Herald that a marketing and research firm polled respondents on whether or not they would be willing to join a faith-based ministry that adhered to principles similar to Campus Crusade. At first, respondents were generally enthusiastic.

However, Sellers told Boston Herald, “When we said, ‘Well, what if the name of that organization was this (Campus Crusade for Christ), their interest dropped significantly.”

Enlarged ministries

A second reason for the name change is that the ministry has enlarged its work beyond college campuses.

Cru, one of the largest religious charities in the U.S., has some 70,000 student members in the country. However, Sellers told Boston Herald, “We [also] have an athletic ministry we call Athletes in Action. We have a family ministry we call Family Life. We have music ministries. We have ministries in 150 countries, and there are fewer than 10 of those that still use the [Campus Crusade] name.”

The new name has the approval of Vonette Bright, who co-founded the ministry with her husband, the late Bill Bright. She said, “From the beginning, Bill (Bright) was open to changing our name. He never felt it was set in stone. In fact, he actually considered changing the name 20 or 25 years ago. We want to remove any obstacle to people hearing about the most important person who ever lived—Jesus Christ.”

Steve Douglass, president of Cru, said that the time is right for a new name. “Our leadership team and board of directors are united in their belief that this is the right time to embrace a new name, and that this name meets our objective of achieving a greater level of effectiveness in ministry. We believe this new name will position us to connect better with the next generation.”

Cru is one of the largest worldwide interdenominational Christian organizations globally, with over 25,000 full and part-time staff from 191 countries, and 29 distinct ministries. It was founded in 1951.

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• 

A group of Roman Catholic parishioners in Boston is determined to contest a move by the Archdiocese of Boston to sell six shuttered churches to buyers who may use the buildings for secular purposes.

“It’s where we come to practice our faith and to hold to our beliefs that it is not just a building,” Jon Rogers, spokesman of Friends of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in Scituate, told Boston Herald.

The group in St.Frances has held vigil since Oct. 2004, organizing themselves into shifts so that the church is being watched around the clock. Rogers, 52, told Boston Herald, “We know the archdiocese needs the money, but you know what, not at our expense.”

Other churches in Massachusetts that will be up for sale are St. Jeanne D’Arc in Lowell; Our Lady of Lourdes in Revere; Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Boston; St. James the Great in Wellesley; and Star of the Sea in Quincey, the archdiocese announced in a statement.

Two churches, however, will still be retained for “other future ecclesial uses,” the statement from the archdiocese said. These churches are St. Jeremiah in Framingham and St. Therese in Everett.

A public decree has already stated that the churches can now be used for secular purposes. This decree was needed so that the archdiocese may, under canon law, accept bids for the properties.

Since February, Cardinal Sean O’ Malley held dialogues with the Catholic community regarding the churches. The archdiocese said O’ Malley made sure that “every means of civil and canonical appeal regarding closed parishes to be pursued over the past six years,” was taken into consideration.

In a statement to parishioners, O’ Malley said, “I want you to know I have heard you. I appreciate your strong commitment to your parish. What I have heard from these consultations is that we have reached a point as a community of believers where we must relegate these church buildings as part of the continuing healing and rebuilding of the Archdiocese,” Boston Herald reported.

O’ Malley was referring here to moves by some angry parishioners who brought the dispute up to the Vatican, but whose appeals were rejected in 2010.

“[O’ Malley] would ask the faithful to respect his decision, and in areas where there are vigils, that there would be a peaceful conclusion,” Rev. Arthur M. Coyle, who is tasked to coordinate the sale of the churches, told The Boston Globe.

“I can’t respect that decision,” protestor Marsha Devir told The Boston Globe. She is holding vigilance at St. Frances Cabrini, where the group has set up beds, easy chairs and a television set.

Devir told The Boston Globe that she plans to stay until she “gets pulled out of here by the police.”

Elsewhere, at Our Lady of Lourdes, John Verrengia, 55, told Boston Herald, “I don’t see how [the closing] is going to promote healing. It just continues to promote disillusionment with their thought process.”

Rebirth of Catholicism

Peter Borre, who chairs the Council of Parishes, told Boston Herald, “Some American bishops, like Cardinal O’ Malley, seem ready to give up, close down churches and sell them off as scrap. An increasing number of churchmen in Rome see the possibility of a rebirth of Catholicism in America and don’t want churches destroyed.”

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• 

A businessman in Netherlands is building an ark that will be identical in size to the one that was built by Noah in the Bible.

Johan Huibers, 60, has for the last few years been building an ark like the one described in the Bible that Noah built and rode on with his family during the great flood.

The ark is the exact size as the one in the Bible—300 cubits (450 feet) long and 30 cubits (45 feet) high, similar to a three-story structure. It is 50 cubits (75 feet) wide.

Huibers told The New York Times that a cubit is about 18 inches (the distance from the finger tips to the elbow).

He used Swedish pine, noting that some versions of the Bible describe the wood God told Noah to use a “resin wood.”

Visitors to the ark have described ark as having a rich fresh pine smell and cavernous decks.

Dutch safety standards

There are some differences however, due to Dutch safety standards.

For now, a special anchor was installed so that the ark, which weighs 2,970 tons, could qualify for the time being as a building.

The ark is being built on 25 steel barges that were put together to serve as a basin. It is kept rigid with a heavy steel frame.

Huibers told The New York Times, “It is much easier to make a wooden ark.”

Safety standards also require a triple-coat of varnish that is fire retardant. Noah only used pitch which only served to make it waterproof, according to The New York Times.

Irony

Ironically, the site where the ark is being built, in Dordrecht city, Netherlands might be a good place for it. The city, which has a population of 118,000, has often been flooded, including the devastating 1995 flood, and falls below sea level.

Dordrecht lies at the confluence of three rivers, and with global warming, water levels have gone higher. Rather than build higher dikes, the farmlands east and south of the city, called Forest of Bulrushes, have been returned to the waters.

Alderman Piet Sleeking told The New York Times, “It’s called the room for the river project. Instead of building the dikes higher, we are giving the rivers and canals more room.”

Neighbors

Some neighbors have grumbled over the project. Gerrit Kruythoff, 65, told The New York Times, “We used to have a view all the way to the river. You could see the ships passing by.” Bas Keyzer, 46, said, “It’s not very nautical; it’s top heavy. But it certainly looks like the ark.”

But Annie van der Luytgaarden disagrees. She told International Herald Tribune, “It’s beautiful inside and out, the stairways, the doors. I’ve already asked if I can join on the maiden voyage. I’ll do the dishes.’’

Huibers had been thinking of an ark since 1992. By 2004, he built a smaller ark 225 feet in length, which sailed through the Dutch canals. People paid $7 to ride on it, and after three years he’d had some 600,000 customers making a hefty profit of $1.2 million, The International Herald Tribune said.

But Huibers said the ark goes beyond making money. He told International Herald Tribune, “It is to tell people that there is a Bible. And that, when you open it, there is a God. It’s a simple meaning. A lot of things in the boat lead you to think.’’

Usefulness

The city officials see the project as a way to generate tourism and generate employment. Alderman Sleeking told The New York Times, “There could be hundreds of thousands of tourists, so for the city it would be a good thing.”

The ark is conceived to also engender teaching, with panoramas depicting the story of Noah, and live animals on board. As of now, there are hens, roosters and birds in cages, but more animals will be added. There are also two conference rooms which can accommodate up to 1,500.

Huibers also wrote to Boris Johnson, mayor of London to request that the ark could be brought there for next summer’s Olympic Games. Visiting Texas investors have also encouraged him to bring the ark to Galveston, The New York Times said.

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• 

Only five presidential hopefuls showed up at the recently-held first Grand Old Party presidential debate, all of them ranking 2.5 percent or lower in the Winthrop Poll that was taken last month.

The candidates who showed up were businessman Herman Cain, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, Texas congressman Ron Paul, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, according to Miami Herald.

All of those who showed up for the debate, except for Johnson, have already launched exploratory committees for their possible presidential run. Former Alabama Supreme Court justice Roy Moore has also formed an exploratory committee, but he did not attend the debate, the Presidential Prayer Team website said.

The better-known contenders, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann were no shows, according to the Miami Herald.

All the presidential hopefuls agreed on a number of things, including a desire to lower taxes, a need for a tougher foreign policy and a need to stop Obamacare, Miami Herald said.

Lower taxes

Pawlenty, a former Roman Catholic turned Evangelical Christian, expressed support for lower taxes saying that having grown up working class, he understands its value, Miami Herald said.

He also spoke of visits he often made to the Middle East lending him an understanding of the terrorist mindset. He said that “under limited circumstances” he would support “enhanced” interrogation techniques, Miami Herald reported.

Pawlenty faced tough hurdles including questions about his handling of Minnesota’s budget, leaving it in the red after he borrowed six billion dollars from local school districts, the LA Times said.

His former support in 2007 for cap and trade, a stand which conservatives dislike, was also raised. Pawlenty said, “I made a mistake. Nobody’s perfect,” the LA Times reported.

U.S. foreign policy

Herman Cain, who once told The Christian Post that his faith interplays all his decisions in life, has tied with Pawlenty in the Winthrop poll for 11^th place among potential GOP candidates, according to the Miami Herald.

Cain, a radio host and businessman, criticized U.S. foreign policy saying, “We need a real clear national security strategy with every nation on the planet, friend or foe,” noting in particular U.S. policy in Syria and Libya, Miami Herald said.

Afghanistan

Ron Paul got big cheers when he criticized U.S. nation-building efforts in Afghanistan by “borrowing 43 cents out of every dollar,” adding, “To me, that is crazy,” LA Times reported.

The Texas congressman said, “Boy, it’s a wonderful time for this country now to reassess it and get the troops out of Afghanistan,” the LA Times reported. Paul is a libertarian who is on his second GOP presidential run, Miami Herald said.

Abolish corporate tax

Gary Johnson, former New Mexico governor, is a libertarian who had vigorously opposed the military policies of both the Bush and Obama administrations. He said during the debate that the corporate tax should be abolished, stating that this would provide “literally tens of millions of jobs overnight,” Miami Herald reported.

Health care

Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, attacked the health care overhaul of 2010 saying, “What Obamacare does is shift this fundamental belief of our founders that our country was created to make sure people are free,” because it will in due time compel almost everyone to get health care coverage, Miami Herald said.

Santorum said, “To me it’s a game changer. It has to be stopped,” according to the Miami Herald.

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• 

Democratic Rep. Daphne Campbell said recently at a press conference in Florida that she is demanding a public apology from fellow Democratic Rep. Scott Randolph and House Minority leader Ron Saunders for alleged bullying and chauvinist attacks after she supported a pro-life bill.

Randolph denied the accusations, while some House Democrats said the accusations are exaggerated. A Florida Channel video was shown in Randolph’s defense. However, in the video Randolph is seen talking to Campbell, but the camera then cuts away. Later, Randolph is seen walking away, Times/Herald Tallahassee reported.

Rep. Geraldine Thompson, in Randolph’s defense, said “If there would have been very loud and aggressive behavior, I would have heard it,” according to the Times/Herald Tallahassee. Randolph did admit that he threw some of Campbell’s papers and pen in the trash can, which he said were on his desk, the Times/Herald Tallahassee said.

Pam Olsen of the International House of Prayer in Tallahassee said in the press conference that she witnessed the event from the gallery and saw firsthand “the intimidation from leaders of [Campbell’s] party,” and saw Campbell being spoken to in a way that was “traumatic.” Olsen’s statement is at 8:55 on  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS8q3DwRTWg.

A number of House Democrats told media members that they support Campbell, and added that the party must move on together as a group, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Campbell, a Florida State House Representative, said during the press briefing, “I am a Democrat and I am proud to be a Democrat and no Democrat should be treated like this,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The incident, which occurred in the freshman rep’s first legislative session, was caused when the Ultrasound Bill was up for debate. Campbell, who works as a nurse and is married with five children, passionately supported the bill which necessitates
ultrasounds before abortions, Charisma News said.

In supporting the bill Campbell quoted the book of Ezekiel and cited the biblical commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” At this, Republicans in the Florida House gave her a standing ovation, Charisma News reported.

After the vote Randolph, whose assigned seat is next to hers, threw papers on her desk, tossed her pen in the trash, called her a traitor and said he would find someone to take her place in 2012, the Times/Herald Tallahassee said.

Campbell said, “I was the victim of an altercation by my fellow state representative, Scott Randolph. Several items were thrown in my face, foul language was used against me, and I was insulted and ridiculed in front of all my colleagues. I was called a ‘traitor’ and was told that I was going to be kicked out of office next year,” Charisma News reported.

Randolph’s supporters include Equality Florida and Planned Parenthood, according to Charisma news. Campbell has the backing of several Christian leaders who support a number of abortion-related bills that are before the Legislature, the Orland Sentinel said.

Randolph told Campbell, “You are a traitor. … I swear, you will not be re-elected. I will get an opponent,” to which Campbell replied, “You have no right. God put me here,” according to Charisma News.

Bill Warren of the Florida Family Policy Council said he personally witnessed the entire incident. He told LifeSiteNews, “Democrats are now harassing [Campbell] with needless questions on all of her bills and attempting to defeat even simple, noncontroversial bills.”

John Stemberger, president of Florida Family Policy Council told LifeSiteNews, “I spoke to Rep. Daphne Campbell by phone and personally thanked her and told her she is to be applauded for standing alone within her party in support of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society– the unborn.”

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• 

The U.S. Holocaust Museum is joining forces with Ancestry.com to digitalize information about victims of Nazi persecution, whether Jewish or non-Jewish.

Ancestry.com is an online family history site. By working together, people can research the lives of anyone who was a victim or who survived the holocaust, The Washington Post said.

The project has been called WorldMemoryProject.org, and it will open the portals to information culled from millions of World War II documents of murders of Jews and other people for interested researchers, using the specially-designed software that has been specially designed by Ancestry, The Washington Post reported.

In due time, WorldMemoryProject.org will provide the largest online database of information about individual victims of Nazi persecution. This information will, for the first time, be available online for free, according to The Washington Post.

Volunteers are being recruited to sort through the museum’s 170 million documents which, curators say, contain data on some 17 million people whom the Nazis targeted, the AP said.

At present, some 50,000 records can be found on the website Lisa Yavnai, museum director told the AP. However, a lot still must be done. Yavnai said, “You might have a collection of 700 microfilm reels from Poland, but if you’re looking for one person, it’s really hard to find.”

Ancestry has some 60,000 volunteers who helped to index records, including municipal records and genealogies, to make them easy to search through. However, this was before the partnership was forged with the museum, the AP said.

Volunteers will be welcome to assist in indexing Holocaust records, such as German occupation records and community documents that cross through Europe recording displaced persons from Allied forces when the war ended, the AP reported.

Anyone is welcome to help, and the more who do, the faster the indexing can be accomplished in a project that is expected to take a number of years to accomplish, according to the AP.

Today, the youngest survivors of the holocaust are in their 70s and 80s. It is hoped that the information can be ready and indexed appropriately before it would be too late for them, the AP said.

Expected outcome

With the completion of the project much more information will be available and can be assorted much more quickly. The contrast can be seen in the experience of Joseph Finkelstein, 59, who was researching about his grandfather, Jacob Finkelstein.

For years Joseph and his father pored through microfilm and original documents in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and even traveled to Poland and Austria. They learned ultimately that Jacob survived the holocaust, but died four days afterwards because he was very weak and sick. The even found his burial spot in Austria, the AP said.

Joseph, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. was able to put a gravestone on his grandfather’s unmarked grave, and to see his grandfather’s picture for the first time. He told the AP, “What I found is there’s truth to be discovered that has been unknown for almost seven decades. What I discovered is my grandfather — that he existed in that world. It’s part of my past and I’ve recovered part of it.”

But for those who don’t have the years to spare poring through documents or the money to travel to Europe, a resource such as WorldMemoryProject.org can be invaluable.

The archives of 17 million people are not limited to just Jews, but also Roma, Political prisoners, Ukranians, Poles and others. With the WorldMemoryProject.org, millions of others can easily find answers to their questions online, The Herald Sun said.

One volunteer is Alfred Traum, 82, who is retired. For three years he went through the museum’s documents to help index the information list. He told The Washington Post, “There was a ledger card at the top of each list, written in this beautiful handwriting. Then the list of people being sent to their death was typewritten.”

One day he was surprised to find two names on a list, his parents Elias and Geselle Traum. He told The Washington Post, “I had known that they didn’t survive the war for many years. It wasn’t any surprise. But seeing it written in this cold manner was horrific. It had the place where they were born, the date they were born and when they were deported to Minsk.”

Sara Bloomfield, museum director told the Herald Sun, “We hope to remind the public that the Holocaust is not about numbers but about individuals, just like us, and to help families uncover histories they thought were lost.”

Bloomfield said to the Herald Sun, “The Museum’s vast archives contain documentation that may be the only remaining link to an individual life. Preserving these personal histories and making them available online is one of the most powerful ways we can learn from history and honour the victims.”

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Two Christians in Pakistan were picked up by police and detained last Friday night for alleged violation of the country’s infamous blasphemy law.

Mushtaq Gill, 60, and his son, Farrukh Mustaq Gill were picked up from the family home in Gujranwala city, some 28 miles away from Lahore, after a group of Muslims surrounded the house and tried to burn it, The International Herald Tribune said.

The police took the two men into “protective custody” allegedly to avert violence, according to The International Herald Tribune. However, Scoop Independent News said the two men were detained.

Gujranwala lies in an area which is considered to be the hub of Islamic radicals in Pakistan, Scoop Independent News said. It has been the site of previous burning of Christian churches, occupation of their properties, false accusations of the blasphemy law and murdering of Christians.

Because of this hundreds of Christians have fled the area for fear of their safety, including the family of Phillip Dutt, a local pastor, according to The International Herald Tribune.

Last Friday after prayers Muslim activists from Azizabad Colony “tried to incite a mob attack” against the victims’ home by making inflammatory announcements on the loudspeakers of mosques, The International Herald Tribune said.

Led by clerics, a group of Muslim extremists surrounded the house of the victims with intent to set it on fire. According to The International Herald Tribune, police picked up the two men to avert violence.

Accusations against the two men go three months back when some Muslims claimed they had found a package of burnt pages of the Quran outside of the Gill home, along their postal address, The International Herald Tribune reported.

Included in the package was a statement allegedly from the Gills in which they “admitted” committing several blasphemous acts and planned to do more because no one has “enough guts to prevent them from doing so,” The International Herald Tribune said.

Dutt told The International Herald Tribune that he knows both men well and said they were “clearly being framed by someone who wanted to get even in some unrelated matter or out of sheer jealousy.”

It is not yet certain whether the Gills were victimized because of a personal score or as a reaction to the recent burning of the Quran by a cult in Florida. In recent weeks incidents of persecution of Christians in Pakistan were blamed on the Quran burning, Scoop Independent News said.

Mushtaq Gill is vice principal of the Christian Technical Training Center which is with the Presbyterian theological seminary. According to Scoop Independent News he is an elder with his church.

Farrukh  is an MBA degree holder who works at the local National Bank branch as a welfare officer, according to The International Herald Tribune.

The family of the victims called on the Masihi Foundation for legal help. The Foundation is known for assisting in the legal defense of Christians, including the defense of Asia Bibi, the first woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy, Scoop Independent News said.

Haroon Barkat Masih, chairman of the Foundation, told Scoop Independent News, “The government has failed to control the growing extremism, protect the properties and lives of the Christians in Pakistan. In the past few weeks we have witnessed the growing hatred towards the Christians. The Christians across Pakistan have been condemning the desecration of the Quran, but still they are targeted. If they condemn the desecration of the bible, still they face brutality. Without confirming the facts, the Christians are assaulted and subjected to the worst torture in the name of the blasphemy law.”

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• 

A Christian leader responded recently
to issues regarding Australia’s Education Act, which requires Special Religious
Instruction in public schools.

Critics say SRI discriminates
against students whose parents choose not to let them take the classes, opens
the door to false instruction, and is biased towards ACCESS (Anglican,
Protestant and Reformed) Ministries, which provides most SRI instruction, according
to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Evonne Paddison, CEO of ACCESS,
issued a statement which was published in part in Sunday Age, according to
their website. The statement is published in full in the ACCESS website and
states that it was written on the request of Sunday Age.

Paddison listed a number of
complaints that were raised regarding the Education Act and SRI, and its
seeming bias towards ACCESS Ministries to the detriment of other faiths, the
website statement said.

Discrimination

Critics said while parents may choose not to let their children take the religion classes, the children feel intimidated at being “different” and during classes, the children must either sit at the back of the class, stay in the library or observe silence in a special room, The Sydney Morning Herald said.

However Paddison said the Education guidelines say children who do not attend the classes need to be supervised and the time can be used for “self-directed learning” which can include homework, finishing projects or reading. “If a parent feels their child has not had the desired level of supervision, this is a matter to be addressed at the individual school,” the website said.

Bias towards Christianity

The Sydney Morning Herald said, “While other religious groups – including Jewish, Islamic and Hare Krishna – are accredited to run classes, 96 percent are taught by Christian education provider Access Ministries.”

Paddison said in the website statement that there is equal opportunity for all faiths. However, “the current spread of SRI programs run by the various religions, reflects the religious demographics of our society.”

Paddison also noted that the many different faith groups including Jews, Catholics, Baha’I, Greek Orthodox, Buddhist, Hindu and Islam work cooperatively when possible, and that objections are mainly posed by Humanists, the website said.

False teachings, proselytizing

The writer of the Sydney Morning Herald article said because of SRI she learned to fear the Eagles band and classical music. She also says a six-year-old begged her family to go to church or they would “drown when the second flood came.”

Are such anecdotal statements the rule or the exception? This is not clear. However, Paddison noted in the website that “The message we constantly hear about CRE is that parents are effusive at the level of positive values it gives their children and promotes across the whole school community.”

Creeping radical secularism

Barney Zwartz noted in Brisbane Times the growth of radical secularism, calling it an ideology that wishes to appear neutral. He said it is typified in Richard Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion, which says it’s abusive for parents to teach faith to their children.

Zwartz wrote in the Brisbane Times, “If people really believe teaching children that Jesus is the son of God is as evil as raping, beating, starving or neglecting them, then they should agitate for the jailing of such parents, or the removal of the children. So far, I haven’t heard that.”

Anglican Bishop Tom Frame said in 2007 of radical secularism, “[I]t represents a veiled form of political tyranny and ideological oppression. It is yet another closed belief system with little capacity for self-criticism, sustained by an absolute conviction regarding the necessity of its own ascendancy,” according to Brisbane Times.

While noting that to be anti-religion is not equivalent to being neutral on religion, Zwartz wrote in Brisbane Times, “If no religion should be advocated, neither should atheism.”

Zwartz wrote in Brisbane Times, “I do not suggest that all or most opponents of special religious instruction are radical secularists of this sort, or that their opposition forms part of a wider agenda for social engineering. But some are, and they should be resisted because they are as divisive as any religious fundamentalist.”

Paddison quoted Prime Minister Gillard who said, “I’m on the record as saying things like I think it’s important for people to understand their Bible stories, not because I’m an advocate of religion – clearly, I’m not – but once again, what comes from the Bible has formed such an important part of our culture,” according to the website.

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• 

Iran authorities arrested recently dozens of Christians who were former Muslims, raising concerns about stepped-up persecution of Christians in the Islamic world.

Gov. Morteza Tamadon of Teheran said the Christians were arrested during the Christmas holidays either for converting to Christianity from Islam, and/or for trying to convert other Muslims, the UPI said.

Tamadon said, “Just like the Taliban who have inserted themselves into Islam like a parasite, (evangelicals) have crafted a movement in the name of Christianity.” The UPI reported.

The UPI said plainclothesmen raided Christian homes during the Christmas season and searched for religious items. Iran forbids Christians to possess bibles, nor can they say mass in Persian.

Stepped up attacks

This is the latest among stepped up attacks against Christians from Muslim-majority countries. Last October extremists occupied Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad leaving 52 dead and 67 wounded. (See http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/11/iraqi-cardinal-condemns-bloody-ruthless-attack-on-landmark-church-14305).

Stepped up attacks led to planting bombs on the grounds of nine Christian churches and most recently, lobbing bombs at some 14 Christian homes during the Christmas season, The Sydney Morning Herald said.

In Egypt 23 Coptic Christians were killed 30 minutes into the New Year and 79 were injured when a bomb was lobbed at Al-Qiddissin Church in Alexandria, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

In Nigeria, 32 were killed and 74 wounded in a series of Christmas eve bomb attacks at churches in Jos. (See http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/12/pope-condemns-church-bombings-in-nigeria-philippines-14909). In Pakistan, most recently, moderate Muslim Gov. Salman Taseer of Punjab was assassinated for opposing the blasphemy law.

Pretext

The attacks on churchgoers in Iraq and Egypt were done on the pretext that two Coptic Christian women in Egypt allegedly converted to Islam, but are now ‘imprisoned’ in a Coptic monastery.

The Sydney Morning Herald said, “These seemingly absurd sparks ignited two of the higher-octane bonfires in a new wave in the persecution of minority Christians across the Islamic world in recent days.”

The Sydney Morning Herald compares such retribution to that which was generated when the head of a 50-member Florida sect planned to burn copies of the Qu’ran in front of their property.

Safer under Saddam

Iraqi Christians were safer under Saddam, Father Rony Hanna of the Iraqi Chaldean Archdiocese said. “This is what we miss most now—being protected,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Sydney Morning Herald said Christians post-Saddam make easier targets, noting that in the initial post-Saddam years violence was focused between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. It shifted to Christians amid harsh public criticism and because both sides are well armed for counterattacks.

Christians lack militias and political clout. Also, they are viewed by extremists as Western surrogates. The attacks prevail because the Iraqi government is not powerful enough to control them, The Sydney Morning Herald said.

Egypt

Egyptian analysts suggest the New Year church bombing in Egypt is the work of locals who are disaffected with Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, rather than Al-Qaida, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Discovery News, however, blamed the persecution on the fact that moderate Muslims do not speak out. When they do, as did Egypt’s Grand Mufti Dr. Ali Gomaa, (who denounced the New Year bombing), the media doesn’t cover it.

Pakistan

The recent assassination of Taseer for opposing the blasphemy law and supporting Christian prisoner Asia Bibi, is a signal to moderate Pakistani Muslims to put their politics on the shelf, The Sydney Morning Herald said.

Discovery News said the exploitation of the blasphemy law for personal vendetta or material gain is so accepted in Pakistan that the government dares not repeal it, nor introduce court interpretation to curb whimsical arrests.

Analyst Ahmed Rashid told The Sydney Morning Herald, “We have a very, very severe polarization in the country—we have a small minority of extremists and a small number of liberals speaking out, but the very large silent majority are people who are not extremists in any way, but are not speaking out.”

It’s all about power

Christian persecution is more often about “raw political power and social control,” The Sydney Morning Herald said, which is done either by autocratic governments, fundamentalist breakaway groups or extremists, including Al-Qaida and imitators.

Discovery News said Christian persecution is increasing even in formerly tolerant Islamic countries such as Morocco, adding, “This really is the scandal of modern Islam and demands action from within the Islamic community.” It adds that media fails to give Christian persecution due attention.

Discovery News said perhaps Western elites ignore Christian persecution because “secularism of the West is…ambivalent towards Christianity and seeks ever increased infringements on religion[.]”

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The statement by Pope Benedict XVI on the use of condoms as a lesser evil to prevent transmitting HIV applies equally to women, transsexuals and men.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said recently that according to the pope, it didn’t matter whether the person using the condom was a male, female or transsexual. What is important is the consideration of the life of the sexual partner, the AP reported.

Lombardi was responding to questions arising from the Italian translation of the original German manuscript of the book, Light of the World: The Pope, The Church, and Signs of the Times. The German book uses the male term for prostitute, while the Italian translation uses the female term, the AP said.

The author of the book, German journalist Peter Seewald, wrote the 239-page tome after a series of interviews with the pope for one week. In the past, Seewald had interviewed the pope twice when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and produced two bestsellers, CNN said.

According to Rome Reports, the first two books were entitled “The Salt of the Earth,” and “God and the World.” Benedict is not the first pope to grant an interview for a book, however. His predecessor, John Paul II was interviewed by journalist Vittorio Messori for the book, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.”

In Light of the World, Benedict said condom use by male prostitutes afflicted with HIV to prevent infection of his partner is a more moral and responsible choice, according to the AP.

Clergy abuse

Regarding the issue of clergy abuse, Benedict said the Vatican should have responded more quickly. “It would have been the duty of Rome, to say outright to all countries: Look and see if you are in the same situation. Perhaps we should have done this,” AKI reported.

Regarding the victims of clergy abuse, Benedict said, “It is difficult for them to continue to believe the church is a source of good…that the church helps people….I can understand this,” according to AKI.

After the US sex abuse scandals were revealed, similar scandals came to light in Germany, Ireland and Belgium, among other European countries, that took place over decades and involved thousands of victims, according to AKI.

Willing to resign

Benedict, 83, also said he is willing to resign if he is no longer “physically, psychologically and spiritually” able to do his duty, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

No pontiff has ever resigned in the last 700 years, and the Catholic belief is that the papacy is a lifetime job. The last time a pope voluntarily resigned was in 1294, namely, Celestine V, The Sydney Morning Herald said.

Although Benedict is in good health, last year he broke his wrist from a fall when he was having a vacation in the Alps. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Benedict said, “I am sometimes concerned and I wonder whether I can make it even from a physical point of view.”

The Sydney Morning Herald said that this year, it was revealed that John Paul II, Benedict’s predecessor, signed a 1989 document that said if he is incurably ill, he would resign.

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