Free Republic

What motivated the Dominicans in the 18th century to establish a community at the heart of the Nineveh Plains?An exposition at the Dominican friary of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, which runs until June 17, offers a collection of Iraqi manuscripts never shown to the public before—dating from between the 13th and 19th centuries—as well as exceptional photographs from the old photo archive of the Dominican friary in Mosul (Iraq). These are the treasures that, along with the desire to live the Gospel in a land of ancient Christianity, inspired the Order of Preachers to establish a residence in...

Baghdad (Agenzia Fides) - The towns and villages of the Nineveh Plain once inhabited by Christians, after three years of jihadist occupation, try to start all over again also thanks to the generous and concrete support of foreign organizations and volunteers, eager to help Iraqi Christians in this difficult historical phase. But a real rebirth will only be possible if the local populations free themselves from the attitude of those who constantly complain and remain passive, "waiting to receive everything from the State and charitable organizations". This is the call that Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako wanted to address to...

In Aleppo, up to two-thirds of the Christian population has left the city, about half has left the rest of the country. Jobs must be provided for those who remain, education to their children, and "spiritual support" so that they can continue the mission of "bearing witnesses to Christ" in a Muslim-majority country. Next week, the cardinal will meet with the pope.Rome (AsiaNews) - In recent weeks, "violence seems to have dropped" in Damascus and other areas of Syria, but not in “Raqqa and other parts of that province" where "heavy fighting" continues. Another critical area is "in the south,...

Christianity is making a comeback in Europe – and it’s mostly thanks to Muslims, say experts in Islam and faith leaders. A soaring number of Muslims, many of them refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are converting to Christianity, breathing new life into Europe’s once floundering Christian churches. The Muslims are flocking to various Christian denominations, experts said, including becoming Protestants, evangelical or Catholic. As many parts of Europe are becoming more secular and houses of worship are seeing congregants leave in droves, it is Muslim converts who are reviving struggling Christian churches. "European churches have struggled for decades to...

During the last centuries, the number of Muslims in the world has been increasing steadily. Statistics for the year 2010 are telling us that the Muslim population is 1.6 billion. 1 In 1973 the Muslim population was only 0.5 billion. 2 Many Muslims believe that Islam will be the world’s religion in future, because Islam is growing. However new statistics show that Islam is dying a slow death. The following reasons:1. Decline in birth rate under MuslimsFor many centuries, Islam was growing because of a higher birth rate. However, since last decades birth rate is declining fast. From 1990-2010 the...

Abu Dhabi's crown prince ordered the change to 'consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions'A mosque in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital, has been renamed “Mary, Mother of Jesus”. Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi crown prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces, ordered that the mosque be renamed to “consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions.” Mary plays a prominent role in the Christian and Islamic traditions. Reverend Canon Andrew Thompson of St. Andrew’s Church, an Anglican parish near the newly renamed mosque, expressed is gratitude in an...

Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register has a riveting interview with an Egyptian Greek Melkite Jesuit. No, no. This is a good one. He interviews Fr Henri Boulad, an expert on Islam. You would do well to read the whole thing over there, but here is a bit. Jesuit Scholar: Seeking to Defend Islam at All Costs Is Betraying the TruthIn an interview with the Register, Egyptian Greek Melkite Jesuit Father Henri Boulad explains why he believes Islamist terrorists are applying what their religion teaches them, and why the Church fails to address this because she has fallen prey to a...

Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American and former head of the highest court at the Vatican, said that Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God because the Islamic god “is a governor,” and Islam is Sharia, the law “which comes from Allah” and which “must dominate every man eventually.”“I hear people saying to me, well, we’re all worshipping the same God, we all believe in love,” said Cardinal Burke in an August teleconference about his latest book, as reported by EWTN’s National Catholic Register.“But I say stop a minute and let’s examine carefully what Islam is, and what...

Bernie Sanders Don’t Think Christians Should Be In Public Office

Egypt’s interior minister has advised Christians to curtail their visits to churches and monasteries in light of the rash of violence targeted against Christians. The government minister, Magdi Abdel Ghaffar, said that security will be tightened around churches, but in light of the current state of emergency he suggested that Christians should avoid public displays and should worship quietly. The statement from the interior minister contradicts appeals from Egyptian tourism officials, who are encouraging Christian visitors. Egyptian Minister to Christians: security at risk, reduce visits and celebrations in churches (Fides)

Dental studies graduate Abanoub Guirguis Naeem will complete his residency in the world’s most important Sunni university. After Pope Francis’s visit, the university wants to show a face open to dialogue. For Fr Rafic Greiche, this is a “positive” step, but “it will be important to monitor developments”.Cairo (AsiaNews) – Last month, Cairo’s al-Azhar University officially admitted Abanoub Guirguis Naeem (pictured, in the middle), a student in dental science, for his residency at the Faculty of Dentistry. Naeem is a Copt, a Christian minority that has recently been subjected to a series of attacks and acts of violence in the...

Philippine military officials said Wednesday that they've asked social media companies including Facebook to remove a video of militants smashing icons in a Catholic church in a besieged southern city, saying it may be an attempt to fan hatred and turn the conflict into a religious war. Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, the military spokesman, also urged netizens not to share the video, which shows militants ripping a picture of Pope Francis, toppling a crucifix, and stomping on and torching religious statues. Militants aligned with the Islamic State group continue to control pockets of territory in Marawi, where they laid siege...

Facebook temporarily suspended the account of Catholic priest Fr. John Higgins in response to a post he made about the history of Islam. Here's the offending post: “There are peaceful and good Muslim people,” his post reads in part. “And then there are the Islamists who are defended by the ignorant who refuse to learn history.” He made his comment on a post on the Facebook page of his Congresswoman Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-D). On May 23rd, his post was deleted and he was suspended from posting on Facebook for a week. “I wrote Facebook several times,” Fr. Higgins told...

With incredible timing, on the morning of Pentecost Sunday, a few hours after the massacre in London that took place that same night, the newspaper of the Italian bishops, “Avvenire,” came out with a front-page editorial by a Muslim, the Egyptian Wael Farouq, who finally said himself, right from the first line, what the highest representatives of the Catholic hierarchy had been stubbornly insisting on denying, and that is that there exists an essential link between Islamic terrorism and “a specific doctrine” of Islam itself. Farouq had written his editorial before the London massacre, which for reasons of time “Avvenire”...

In Ramadan, a holy act. The clerics in this church must have insulted Muhammad in some way, right? They must have poked the poor dears in the eye. No? Their only crime was being Christian? Appeasement and accommodation will only encourage more jihad violence? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe? (Click excerpt link to view video.)

Mosul, Iraq, Jun 5, 2017 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- As government forces pry apart the Islamic State's three yearlong grip on Mosul, Muslims and Christians have united to rebuild a damaged monastery. A Facebook page called “This is Christian Iraq” – dedicated to connecting Iraqi Christians and maintaining the faith amid ISIS threat – recently posted a series of photos showing the joint effort. The May 27 post said that young Muslims from the northern neighborhood joined Christians at the Monastery of Saint George, participating in cleaning and repairs. The monastery belongs to the Chaldean Catholic tradition, an Eastern Catholic...

WE HAVE TO TALK. I recently became a Muslim, which seems to be testing the faith that my friends and neighbors have placed in me as the all-around good human I have always tried to be. It seems that now, during the holy month of Ramadan, is as good a time as any for us to have what I’m calling “The Muslim Talk.” I confess: I have spent the years since 9/11 feeling threatened and wary when walking past a mosque. I got married on Sept. 11, 1988. I’m a native New Yorker. The terror attacks in 2001 were a...

Vatican message to Muslims calls for “global ecological conversion” Diane Montagna | Jun 02, 2017 Mohd Rasfan / AFP Share 58 Comment 2 Print The Vatican’s annual message to Muslims for Ramadan focuses on care for the environment VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has sent Muslims throughout the world a special message for Ramadan and for the feast of ‘Id al-Fitr, which this year falls around June 24.The message, called ‘Christians and Muslims: Caring for our Common Home,’ is based on Pope Francis’ letter to all humanity on the need to care for the environment, Laudato Si’.Issued by the Pontifical...

As more and more details emerge concerning Friday’s Ramadan attack on a busload of Christians on pilgrimage, the more it becomes evident that these 29 martyrs died solely because they were Christians. Survivors of the attack said that the ten masked Islamic State militants did not merely open fire on the bus full of Christian pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confesor, but that the victims were made to descend from the bus and asked one by one whether they were Christians before being shot by the assailants. According to one of the chaplains of...

Pope Francis’ most recent comments attempting to separate Islamic religious beliefs from Islamic violence are deeply misleading. They are not just slightly or partially incorrect, but dangerously wrong.  They stand in direct contradiction to the Church and her saints’ long history of experience and understanding of the Islamic world.In the context of yet another airplane interview — this time returning from World Youth Day in Poland, Francis was asked to discuss the threat posed by Islamic violence — now occurring with alarming frequency throughout the world — against the backdrop of the murder of French priest Fr. Jacques Hamel at the hands of...