Free Republic

The Irish missionary priest savagely murdered in Kenya was due to retire home to Co Limerick next year. Shocking details of the murder of Fr Jeremiah Roche have emerged, as police in Kenya concentrate their investigations on two suspects. It is understood the priest was stripped naked, tied to a chair and was then stabbed in the throat and hit on the head with a blunt object. The robbers left the scene with Fr Roche's blood-stained clothes, a CD player and two mobile phones. His clothes were recovered a kilometre away. The killing took place close to Kericho, in the...

In two separate incidents near Bukavu, a priest and a nun were murdered in a growing wave of anti-Christian violence. Aid to the Church in Need reported today that the Catholic Congolese are "in shock" after the "brutal" killings. Father Daniel Cizimya Nakamaga, 51, was shot in the head on Sunday when gunmen stormed his home in Kabare, smashing a window to enter the presbytery. Monsignor Pierre Bulambo, vicar general of the Bukavu Archdiocese, affirmed that "the archdiocese has fallen victim to an act of barbarism." He continued: "The people have been traumatized and are very afraid. The Congolese are...

It’s no wonder we haven’t heard this story from the Democrat controlled media, but a new group of anti American Black Muslims calling themselves the National Black Foot Soldiers actually celebrated what they call the BOW Black on White “martyrdom” of Police murderer Maurice Clemmons.

Islamic Extremists Execute Young Convert in Somalia Christian accused of trying to convert Muslim teenager found shot on Mogadishu street. NAIROBI, Kenya, November 23 (CDN) — Islamic extremists controlling part of the Somali capital of Mogadishu this month executed a young Christian they accused of trying to convert a 15-year-old Muslim to Christianity. Members of the Islamic extremist group al Shabaab had taken 23-year-old Mumin Abdikarim Yusuf into custody on Oct. 28 after the 15-year-old boy reported him to the militants, an area source told Compass. Yusuf’s body was found on Nov. 14 on an empty residential street in Mogadishu,...

In my homilies to you over the years, I’ve often spoke of our Catholic Faith, and sometimes of our Byzantine Tradition; but I have rarely spoken of the particular Church to which we belong, and of it’s history in Eastern Europe. Our Metropolitan Church is located entirely in the United States; and, the further you travel outside of Pennsylvania, the less you see of any ethnic identity among the members of our parishes; but, as you know, the ancestors of our Church’s original members came from an Orthodox Church which came into union with Rome in 1646 at the Union...

Somalia: Christian Leader Killed On Sept. 28 an Islamic extremist shot and killed Mariam Muhina Hussein, an underground church leader, after discovering six Bibles in her possession, according to Compass Direct News. The day before the shooting, a leader of the Islamic extremist group al Shabaab reportedly sent his wife to visit Hussein's home in Marerey villange. She pretended she was interested in learning about Christianity. During the visit, Hussein read passages of the Bible and told the woman that she could visit regularly to discuss God's Word, according to Compass. The following day, the al Shabaab leader, identified as...

Colombia: Pastor Martyred On Sept. 21, Pastor Manuel was shot and killed by The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. FARC guerrillas made an appointment with Pastor Manuel and his family. “He thought they were going to authorize him to have a church officially, which he had discuss[ed] and asked [for] before,” said VOM contacts. “One of them came in [the house] with the pastor’s wife, Gloria, and his daughter while the pastor was outside. He was shot five times.” A FARC guerrilla who was...

Let us suppose that Manuel Zelaya, the ousted former president of Honduras, is a intelligent man with a good understanding of how politics works. Then the question is: what is his game? Because he started all this. He was removed from office three months ago in circumstances of doubtful legality. Both the Supreme Court and the Congress had demanded his removal for "repeated violations of the constitution and the law," but the way it was done - woken up by soldiers and hustled out of the country by plane - smelled more like an old-fashioned military coup. A member of...

Mourners Protest Islamic Attacks on Copts in Egypt Muslim assailant gruesomely slays Christian, attacks two others with knife. ISTANBUL, September 23 (CDN) — A funeral for a Coptic Christian gruesomely killed on a village street north of Cairo by a Muslim assailant last week turned into a protest by hundreds of demonstrators in Egypt. Galal Nasr el-Dardiri, 35, attacked 63-year-old Abdu Georgy in front of the victim’s shop in Behnay village the afternoon of Sept. 16, according to research by a local journalist. Other Copts watched in horror as El-Dardiri stabbed Georgy five times in the back, according to interviews...

Motive Sought for Slaying of Church Worker in Bangladesh Police, wife doubt student attackers’ story of cell phone theft. DHAKA, Bangladesh, September 24 (CDN) — Authorities are investigating possible motives for the vicious killing of a church worker by students at Dhaka University. A management student at the university and his friends are accused of torturing and killing Swapan Mondol, 35, on Sept. 12 in Suhrawardy Park, adjacent to the university. Mondol, a convert from Hinduism, was supervisor of youth mission for Free Christian Church of Bangladesh (FCCB). The primary suspect’s friends claim they came to his aid after Mondol...

St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Korea's first priest and martyr Seoul, South Korea, Sep 15, 2009 / 12:10 am (CNA).- After two years of remodeling which included the addition of multimedia exhibits, the Korean Martyrs Museum-Shrine has reopened in Seoul.The Museum-Shrine, which contains rooms for liturgical celebration and prayer, was built in 1967 on the site in Jeoldusan where many of the Korean martyrs died from 1866 to 1873. Thousands of Catholics were killed in the fierce persecutions.The Shrine-Museum presents numerous historical documents, visual reconstructions, photographs and documentaries, Fides news agency reports.Archbishop of Seoul Cardinal Nicholas Choeng inaugurated the reopening...

A Michigan police chief says a 63-year-old anti-abortion activist who was protesting outside a high school was shot and killed in front of horrified students and parents. Owosso police chief Michael Compeau said the activist, Jim Pouillon, was outside the school this morning with a sign when a man drove by and shot him. No one else was injured. Compeau says a 33-year-old Owosso man was later arrested in the school shooting and he then told police he was involved in the gravel-pit shooting.(continued)

VOM: Pray for Muslims On Sept. 1, The Voice of the Martyrs received a letter from the wife of one of many Christians being held in prison in an Islamic country. In her letter, she shared how her 3-year-old daughter struggles with her husband’s imprisonment and asked for continued prayers. Her letter reads: “Thanks for your e-mail and love and prayers. I am doing OK. Worry tries to take over me and my mind keeps thinking worries I shouldn't. But the Lord continues to calm me down and give me peace and patience to wait. This week [my husband] is...

The Huffington Post explains that "Melissa Lafsky is the deputy web editor at Discover magazine, where she writes the Reality Base blog. She was previously the editor of the New York Times's Freakonomics blog, and is a former associate editor at HuffPo's Eat The Press." So she's a major-media-certified pundit when she wrote about Chappaquiddick drowning victim Mary Jo Kopechne on Arianna's pages today:

Pakistan: Eight Believers Killed On Aug. 1, a mob of angry Muslim extremists attacked Christians in Gojra district, Punjab province, killing at least eight believers, including a seven-year-old child, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. Dozens of homes and a church building were looted and burned. Reports indicate the violence resulted from rumors Christians had desecrated pages from the Quran several days earlier at a wedding in a nearby village. This was the second attack because of such a rumor. On July 30, Muslim extremists attacked Christians, burning more than 50 homes and animals in Korian village, Faisalabad....

Bangladesh: Pastor Tortured by Police On June 7, police raided an evangelism meeting, arrested and tortured a pastor and two others in Boalia, Bangladesh, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. Pastor Habibur Rahman, of Boalia Spiritual Church was leading the meeting when suddenly the police came in and took them to the police station. That night the police blindfolded them with cloths for few hours and beat them up. During the beatings police asked who was supporting them financially, and how long they had been evangelizing and how many people they had converted. At some point during the...

Nigeria: Pastors Beheaded On July 26, 12 Christians were killed, including three pastors, in northern Nigeria after members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram launched attacks on police and government bases, according to contacts at VOM Canada. The violence, which began in Bauchi state, spread to Borno, Kano and Yobe states. Churches were set ablaze and several people were abducted, including Christians. Many believers were threatened with death if they refused to convert to Islam. According to media reports, assailants behead three pastors: Pastors Sabo Yukubu, Sylvester Akpan and Pastor George Orji. The assailants were reportedly acting on the...

Pakistan: Day of Prayer Christians in Pakistan are inviting believers around the world to join them in prayer for their nation and for the blasphemy laws to be repealed, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. More than 575 pastors from different churches in Pakistan have agreed to observe July 26, 2009 as a day of prayer for persecuted believers. Christians are also running a petition aimed at repealing the blasphemy laws that have led to the arrest of many believers. The Voice of the Martyrs joins believers in Pakistan in prayer and encourages believers around the world to...

July 28 Spiritual Bouquet: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give it to you. St. John 14:27 SAINTS NAZARIUS and CELSUS - Martyrs (First century) Saint Nazarius, born in Rome, was the son of a pagan military man who held an important post in the Roman army. His mother, honored by the Church as Saint Perpetua, was a zealous Christian, instructed by Saint Peter or his disciples in the most perfect maxims of Christianity. Nazarius at the age of nine embraced the Faith with so much ardor...

July 27 Spiritual Bouquet: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. St. John 14:23 SAINT PANTALEON of NICOMEDIAPhysician and Martyr(†303) Saint Pantaleon was born in Nicomedia of a pagan father and a Christian mother, who died while her son was still a child. He was among the court physicians of the Emperor Galerius Maximianus. Deceived by hearing the false maxims of the world applauded, he was without religion when God decided to rescue his soul from its unhappy darkness....