Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- More Children At Risk in Eritrea's Drought
- Iraq Authorities Boost Security after Church Bombs
- Church of England to Debate Communion with ACNA
- Islamists Get Minority Rights Leader Jailed in Pakistan
More Children at Risk in Eritrea's Drought
Catholic News Service reports that Catholic aid officials are concerned about the increasing numbers of malnourished, feeble children in Eritrea. Widespread famine and severe drought in Eritrea left some 85,000 children malnourished, according to Amensty International. Orphanages are overwhelmed by the numbers of needy children. "Unless you've been there and seen it, you cannot understand the gravity of the situation," said Gabriel Delmonaco, U.S. national secretary for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. "The children were too weak to talk, too weak to walk . . . they could not even swat the flies flying around them."
Iraq Authorities Boost Security after Church Bombs
Reuters reports that Iraqi officials imposed a curfew in Mosul on Monday, hoping to avoid violence against Christian neighborhoods in the city. The move follows a series of deadly bombings against seven churches in Mosul and Baghdad on Sunday and Monday morning. "We had warned the authorities that we would be targeted, that our churches would be struck again, but we got no response," said Chaldean Bishop Shleimon Warduni in Baghdad. "They left our churches without protection." A Christian human rights leader in Baghdad voiced concern that Christians are attacked as the "weakest link in the chain of Iraqi society." The bombings killed four people and injured more than 30 others.
Church of England to Debate Communion with ACNA
Christian Today reports that the Church of England has delayed a vote on a resolution welcoming the new Anglican Church in North America into communion. The motion, presented by a lay member at the York General Synod, was tabled on Friday, but has gained renewed importance after The Episcopal Church in America voted Tuesday to end a moratorium on gay bishops. The Anglican Church in North America officially split from the more liberal Episcopal Church last year. The Rev Paul Perkin, a member of General Synod and chair of the steering committee of the orthodox Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, said the motion needs to be considered by the Synod at the earliest opportunity, namely in the February sessions in 2010”.
Islamists Get Minority Rights Leader Jailed in Pakistan
Compass Direct News reports that Pakistani minority rights activist Joseph Francis and two other officials from the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and settlement (CLAAS) were imprisoned for forged documents. Christians believe the arrest was connected with a false charge of assaulting a woman he had counseled regarding her conversion to Islam, at the behest of her Christian parents. One of Francis’ lawyers told Compass that the court did not listen to arguments for releasing Francis as it was biased toward the Islamists who have urged the woman to charge the CLAAS officials with assault.
