Free Republic

Child-Preacher Ammar: “A child must be raised on the love of jihad, and on the desire to be martyred for the sake of Allah. The tree of Islam is irrigated with blood, not with water. Embedding the spirit of Jihad within the soul of the child is one of the most important things educators should deal with, especially in this day and age, when the law of Islam is absent from the Islamic countries, a time when the sun of the glory of Islam has set, a time when sovereignty is in the hands of tyrants, when the Islamic Caliphate...

On Martyrdom "A Martyr Follows the Lord to the End" CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 17, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the catechesis Benedict XVI gave last Wednesday, Aug. 11, during the general audience at the summer papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today in the liturgy we recall St. Clare of Assisi, founder of the Poor Clares, a luminous figure of whom I will speak in one of the forthcoming catecheses. However, this week -- as I already indicated in the Angelus address last Sunday -- we also commemorate some of the...

Criticism Critics claim that Joseph Smith is not a martyr because, while in jail, he had a gun and he had the temerity to defend himself. Critics claim that Joseph killed two men by firing at the mob. See also: Source(s) of the criticismResponse Shifting Definitions In order to make their argument tenable, the critics must do three things. First, they must take some creative liberties with the English language. In this case, the word being redefined is the term martyr. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a "martyr" as “a person who chooses to suffer or die rather than give...

TURKEY Immense crowd and ecumenical service for the funeral of Mgr. Padovese by Mavi ZambakParticipants include members of other Christian Churches and state authorities. The homily by Mgr. Franceschini speaks of "a clergyman, a bishop, a close friend of Turks and Turkey. This land is thus confirmed, once again, a place of martyrdom for those who love her dearly. " Iskendur (AsiaNews) -  The funeral of Bishop. Luigi Padovese was held yesterday afternoon in his cathedral at Iskenderun, Turkey. An immense crowd of the faithful came in large numbers from all the parishes of the Vicariate of Anatolia, a grieving...

Pakistani Christian burned alive dies, Christian community calls for justice Arshed Masih, a 38 year-old Pakistani Christian, died yesterday evening at 7.45 from his very serious injuries. The family requests that an autopsy is performed before the funeral. Christian associations and human rights activists demonstrate outside the hospital. Catholic leaders: the federal and provincial government do not punish the guilty. Wednesday, March 24, 2010 Arshed Masih died last night in hospital from the serious injuries - burns covering 80% of his body – which the 38 year old Pakistani Christian suffered when he was set on fire because he refused...

The rise of Islamic extremism is putting increasing pressure on Christians in Muslim countries, who are the victims of murder, violence and discrimination. Christians are now considered the most persecuted religious group around the world. Paradoxically, their greatest hope could come from moderate political Islam. By SPIEGEL staff. Kevin Ang is cautious these days. He glances around, taking a look to the left down the long row of stores, then to the right toward the square, to check that no one is nearby. Only then does the church caretaker dig out his key, unlock the gate, and enter the Metro...

LONDON – Agents for Britain's MI5 intelligence service have discovered that Muslim doctors trained at some of Britain's leading teaching hospitals have returned to their own countries to fit surgical implants filled with explosives, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Women suicide bombers recruited by al-Qaida are known to have had the explosives inserted in their breasts under techniques similar to breast enhancing surgery. The lethal explosives – usually PETN (pentaerythritol Tetrabitrate) – are inserted during the operation inside the plastic shapes. The breast is then sewn up. Similar surgery has been performed on male suicide bombers....

Near the end of the President's big speech in Cairo last year he said: All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort - a sustained effort - to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings. Does the President actually understand what that "future we seek for our children" really means in many places in the Muslim world." For...

Iran: opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi 'ready to die' for the cause Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi said the country is in 'serious crisis' and he is 'not afraid to die' for his cause. Published: 9:28AM GMT 01 Jan 2010 In a statement posted on his website on Friday , Mr Mousavi called for the immediate release of his supporters arrested after the disputed presidential vote in June and during protests earlier this week. "Arresting or killing Mousavi, [and another opposition leader Mehdi] Karoubi ... will not calm the situation," he said. "I am not afraid to die for people's demands...

Beware of men...men and their ideas about God or no God have always sought to change yours. Sometimes by dialog but often by force of law or violence. We see this on the world stage... read more...

U.S. rights activist crosses into North Korea - reports Jon Herskovitz, Reuters December 26, 2009, 4:00 pm Send SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.S. human rights activist trying to raise global attention about the suffering of the North Korean people has crossed into the reclusive state, other activists and South Korean media said on Saturday. There has been no comment from North Korea, which usually arrests foreign border crossers on site, or from U.S. officials. Activists told Reuters that Robert Park, 28, had crossed into North Korea from China on Friday, while South Korea's Yonhap news agency and the Kukmin Ilbo...

...On Aug. 29 a militia of Lou Nuer killed 43 people and wounded 62 in Wernyol, a Dinka town. Among the dead was Episcopal Church of Sudan archdeacon Joseph Mabior Garang, killed while officiating at a morning prayer service. Most likely, the militia (and its sponsors) targeted Mabior because he was a prominent, beloved leader in the community. He had recently become archbishop of Twic East diocese, newly formed to accommodate the fast-growing church in Bor county, which is part of Jonglei state in South Sudan. ...After Mabior's death, Daau phoned Nathaniel Garang, the bishop of Bor. "Son, I lost...

The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of a student shot dead in Tehran to take down mourning posters as they struggle to stop her becoming the rallying point for protests against the presidential election. Neda Salehi Agha Soltan, 26, was killed as she watched a pro-democracy protest, and mobile phone footage of her last moments have become a worldwide symbol of Iran's turmoil. The authorities had already banned a public funeral or wake and have prevented gatherings in her name while the state-controlled media has not mentioned Miss Soltan's death. Today it was reported that they had also told...

While Christians in the secular West languish in spiritual mediocrity, Christianity remains a deadly serious matter almost everywhere else...

During the Synod on the Word of God, Archbishop Ramzi Garmou of Teheran for the Chaldeans, soberly remarked: “The whole Bible…tells us that faithfulness to the Word of God leads to persecution….According to the Gospel, persecution is considered as the most eloquent sign of faithfulness to the Word of God.” To say that the only Christians in danger of persecution are those who have not capitulated to the “rights” claimed by the modern state seems paradoxical. Christians in both Muslim and Hindu lands appeal to civil government for protection against persecution. In the post-liberal state, all religions are equally private....

IS THAT A PROMISE?

Fr. Bernard Digal has died after a slow agony of more than two months. The religious, brutally beaten by Hindu fundamentalists the night of August 25, has died two months later, this evening at 9:25 local time, from the serious injuries he suffered in the assault. On Saturday, October 25, a feverish Fr. Digal was taken to St. Thomas Hospital in Chennai, in Tamil Nadu; the doctors operated on him to remove a blood clot from his brain, caused by the beating on the night he was attacked. Yesterday, his lungs collapsed and he fell into a coma. This morning,...

Christians and aid workers are distraught and filled with dismay over the killing of Gayle Williams, an aid worker with Serve Afghanistan, who was gunned down yesterday as she went to work. The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the murder, claimed that the woman “was working for an organisation which was preaching Christianity in Afghanistan”. This is not the first time that the Muslim fundamentalists have justified killing on religious grounds, but some Catholics doubt that it is real reason behind the British aid worker’s death. Gayle Williams, 34, had been in the country for several years, working with the...

Catholic Online offers the opportunity for our readers to comment on many of our articles. There have been numerous responses to our continued coverage of the horrid persecution of Catholics and other Christians by militant, extremist Hindus in India. Here are just a few: “Please influence CNN and bring this news in public press and TV.” “Let's all ask our Pastors and Priests what we can do as a Catholic community to bring attention to these atrocities. I never see this mentioned in the NY Daily News, Post or WSJ.” “Where are the protests from our democratic form of government...

No end is in sight to the attacks and violence against Christians. In Orissa, where for more than three weeks a pogrom against Catholics and Protestants has been underway, two more killings have been recorded. Iswar Digal and Purinder Pradhan were murdered and cut to pieces. Iswar Digal, was from the the village of Gatringia in the district of Kandhamal; he was stopped on September 20 by a group of Hindu extremists while he and his wife were trying to escape to a refugee camp. Their home was burned. The other victim was from Nilungia. His body was cut to...