Father Bernardo Echeverry, 62, and Father Hector Fabio Cabrera, 35, who ministered at San Sabastian Roman Catholic parish in Roldanillo village, Valle, Colombia, were found murdered late September 27, the Charisma News website reports today (October 4, 2013).
Neighbors reported to police having seen two men running from the parish. Investigating officers found the priests' bodies in the residence they shared near the church.
Open Doors Colombia notes that in the last year alone, eight priests have been killed in the country.
According to police and media reports, two men broke into the residence while the priests were celebrating 8 p.m. Mass and awaited the priests with knives. The murderers fled with offerings, a computer, and an iPad. Ubeimar Delgado -- governor of Valle -- linked the double murder to organized crime.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Hobby Lobby Chain Won't Carry Hanukkah Items; Because of Owner Steve Green's "Christian Values"
Hobby Lobby -- the national craft store owned by conservative billionaire Steve Green -- does not carry merchandise related to Hanukkah because of Green's "Christian values" -- and some Jews are taking offense -- the Religion News website reports today (October 3, 2013).
"I will never set foot in Hobby Lobby. Ever," wrote Ken Berwitz, the New Jersey blogger who brought the Hobby Lobby Hanukkah flap to light in a blog post on September 27.
Berwitz's outrage has spread to other bloggers who are taking Hobby Lobby to task as a store that courts the general public, but refuses to stock anything related to Judaism -- even in communities with significant Jewish populations.
Green owns more than 550 Hobby Lobby stores nationwide, all of which are closed on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. He is also known for his lawsuit against President Obama's health care law, which he says tramples on his religious liberty by forcing him to insure employees for medical services he objects to on religious grounds. Many legal experts agree that his lawsuit has a good chance of being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"I will never set foot in Hobby Lobby. Ever," wrote Ken Berwitz, the New Jersey blogger who brought the Hobby Lobby Hanukkah flap to light in a blog post on September 27.
Berwitz's outrage has spread to other bloggers who are taking Hobby Lobby to task as a store that courts the general public, but refuses to stock anything related to Judaism -- even in communities with significant Jewish populations.
Green owns more than 550 Hobby Lobby stores nationwide, all of which are closed on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. He is also known for his lawsuit against President Obama's health care law, which he says tramples on his religious liberty by forcing him to insure employees for medical services he objects to on religious grounds. Many legal experts agree that his lawsuit has a good chance of being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Golden Dawn Head Ordered to Remain in Custody; Greece's Neo-Nazi Party Leader Appears in Court
Greece's Golden Dawn party leader Nikos Michaloliakos has been ordered to remain in custody pending trial, the Ekathimerini (Greek Daily) website reports today (October 3, 2013).
Yesterday, the head of Greece's neo-Nazi party defended himself in court on charges of setting up a criminal organization.
During the marathon session at the Evelpidon court complex in Athens -- which went on until the early hours this morning -- Michaloliakos denied the charges which he refuted as politically-motivated.
"I feel sorry for the murder of (Pavlos) Fyssas," Michaloliakos said of the 34-year-old rapper that was stabbed to death by a Golden Dawn member last month. "I condemn (the murder), like I condemn violence in general. I am not a Nazi," said the 56-year-old mathematician.
Yesterday, the head of Greece's neo-Nazi party defended himself in court on charges of setting up a criminal organization.
During the marathon session at the Evelpidon court complex in Athens -- which went on until the early hours this morning -- Michaloliakos denied the charges which he refuted as politically-motivated.
"I feel sorry for the murder of (Pavlos) Fyssas," Michaloliakos said of the 34-year-old rapper that was stabbed to death by a Golden Dawn member last month. "I condemn (the murder), like I condemn violence in general. I am not a Nazi," said the 56-year-old mathematician.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Anti-Semitism Has Been Rising Fast in Hungary; Govt. Determined to Crack Down on Hate Crimes
Hungary has moved to to stamp out resurgent anti-Semitism that has pervaded the country in recent months, the Euro News website reports today (October 2, 2013).
In a recent hate incident, bars of soap were nailed to the fence of a synagogue -- a reference to the myth that Nazis made soap out of those murdered in concentration camps.
Hungary's Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navaracsics said the state is determined to crack down on hate: "We have learned from the past. We know what happened and we will not allow it to happen again. This democracy will defend itself against anyone who wants to incite hatred."
The far-right Jobbick Party has on a number of occasions attacked Jews and Israel in speeches in parliament where they hold 43 of the 386 seats. Hungary still has one of the largest and oldest Jewish communities in Europe, despite the fact that more than 500,000 Hungarian Jews were killed in the Holocaust during World War II.
In a recent hate incident, bars of soap were nailed to the fence of a synagogue -- a reference to the myth that Nazis made soap out of those murdered in concentration camps.
Hungary's Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navaracsics said the state is determined to crack down on hate: "We have learned from the past. We know what happened and we will not allow it to happen again. This democracy will defend itself against anyone who wants to incite hatred."
The far-right Jobbick Party has on a number of occasions attacked Jews and Israel in speeches in parliament where they hold 43 of the 386 seats. Hungary still has one of the largest and oldest Jewish communities in Europe, despite the fact that more than 500,000 Hungarian Jews were killed in the Holocaust during World War II.
Can Catholic Church Have a Rabbi as Its Pope?; Argentine Rabbi Has Lived with Pope for a Week
"Never before in the history of Christian-Jewish relations have a Pope and Rabbi celebrated their friendship by living in the Vatican together for several days, sharing all meals, including on two Jewish festivals and the Sabbath at which the Rabbi said prayers in Hebrew, and discussing what more they can do together to promote dialogue and peace in the world," the Spero Forum website reports today (October 2, 2013).
That is what actually has been happening since September 25 at the Vatican guesthouse (Santa Marta) where Pope Francis lives and where his friend from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rabbi Abraham Skorka, has been his guest from September 25 to this very day.
"I eat with him at breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. He cares for me, and controls everything regarding my food to make sure it is all kosher, and according to my religious tradition. These are festive days, and I have to say certain prayers at meals and, I expand the last prayer and translate it. He accompanies me together with the others at table -- his secretaries and a bishop, and they all say 'Amen' at the end," the Rabbi said.
Rabbi Skorka revealed that he and Pope Francis are planning to travel together to the Holy Land next year. The Israeli and Palestinian authorities have invited Pope Francis, and the Ecumenical Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, wants him to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting of his predecessor, Athenagoras, with Paul VI in the Holy City.
That is what actually has been happening since September 25 at the Vatican guesthouse (Santa Marta) where Pope Francis lives and where his friend from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rabbi Abraham Skorka, has been his guest from September 25 to this very day.
"I eat with him at breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. He cares for me, and controls everything regarding my food to make sure it is all kosher, and according to my religious tradition. These are festive days, and I have to say certain prayers at meals and, I expand the last prayer and translate it. He accompanies me together with the others at table -- his secretaries and a bishop, and they all say 'Amen' at the end," the Rabbi said.
Rabbi Skorka revealed that he and Pope Francis are planning to travel together to the Holy Land next year. The Israeli and Palestinian authorities have invited Pope Francis, and the Ecumenical Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, wants him to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting of his predecessor, Athenagoras, with Paul VI in the Holy City.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Christianity Is Becoming Extinct in Its Birthplace; Experts: Extinction Is a Result of Muslim Attacks
Respected United Kingdom historian Tom Holland told a briefing in London this week that the world is watching the effective extinction of Christianity from its birthplace, the Religion Today website reports today (October 1, 2013).
In an apocalyptic appraisal of the worsening political situation in the region, a panel of experts provided a mass of evidence and statistics for the end of the region's nation states under the onslaught of militant Islam.
Holland said, "It is the climax of a process grinding its way through the twentieth century -- the effective extinction of Christianity from its birthplace."
Holland also compared the predicament of Christianity in the Middle East today to the Thirty Years' War: "In terms of the sheer scale of the hatreds and sectarian rivalries, we are witnessing something on the scale of horror of the European Thirty Years' War."
(The Thirty Years' War ((1618-1648)) was mainly a religious struggle between the ((Catholic)) Holy Roman Empire and the Protestant principalities in Europe that relied on the chief anti-Catholic powers of Sweden and the Netherlands.)
In an apocalyptic appraisal of the worsening political situation in the region, a panel of experts provided a mass of evidence and statistics for the end of the region's nation states under the onslaught of militant Islam.
Holland said, "It is the climax of a process grinding its way through the twentieth century -- the effective extinction of Christianity from its birthplace."
Holland also compared the predicament of Christianity in the Middle East today to the Thirty Years' War: "In terms of the sheer scale of the hatreds and sectarian rivalries, we are witnessing something on the scale of horror of the European Thirty Years' War."
(The Thirty Years' War ((1618-1648)) was mainly a religious struggle between the ((Catholic)) Holy Roman Empire and the Protestant principalities in Europe that relied on the chief anti-Catholic powers of Sweden and the Netherlands.)
New Study:Most Jews Indifferent Toward Judaism; U.S. Jews More Concerned with Culture, Ancestry
In the most comprehensive study of American Jews in 12 years, a strong majority said being Jewish is mostly about ancestry or culture -- not the religious practice of Judaism -- the Religion News website reports today (October 1, 2013).
"A Portrait of Jewish Americans" -- released on Tuesday (October 1, 2013) by the Pew Research Center -- shows strong secularist trends most clearly seen in one finding: 62 percent of U.S. Jews said Jewishness is largely about culture or ancestry; just 15 percent said it's about religious belief.
"Non-Jews may be stunned by it," said Alan Cooperman, co-author of the study. "Being Jewish to most Jews in America today is not a matter of religion."
Pew's new American Jewish statistics -- regarding intermarriage, raising of children, synagogue membership, and attachment to Israel -- are likely to come under intense scrutiny by Jews who are focused on the "continuity" question. That question concerns the fear -- brought into reality by the Holocaust -- that the survival of the Jewish people is tenuous. Many Jews believe that continuity depends on maintaining strong defenses -- especially against external enemies who would kill Jews and destroy Israel, and against the growing internal threat of intermarriage with its tendency to diminish the number of children who are raised as Jews.
"A Portrait of Jewish Americans" -- released on Tuesday (October 1, 2013) by the Pew Research Center -- shows strong secularist trends most clearly seen in one finding: 62 percent of U.S. Jews said Jewishness is largely about culture or ancestry; just 15 percent said it's about religious belief.
"Non-Jews may be stunned by it," said Alan Cooperman, co-author of the study. "Being Jewish to most Jews in America today is not a matter of religion."
Pew's new American Jewish statistics -- regarding intermarriage, raising of children, synagogue membership, and attachment to Israel -- are likely to come under intense scrutiny by Jews who are focused on the "continuity" question. That question concerns the fear -- brought into reality by the Holocaust -- that the survival of the Jewish people is tenuous. Many Jews believe that continuity depends on maintaining strong defenses -- especially against external enemies who would kill Jews and destroy Israel, and against the growing internal threat of intermarriage with its tendency to diminish the number of children who are raised as Jews.
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