THE BIG PICTURE: ‘JESUS GIVES LIFE TO THE FULL’
See OUTREACH MEDIA’s July poster….
Vatican says states cannot force priests to violate seal of confession
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican on Monday reaffirmed Catholic teaching that priests cannot reveal what they learn in confession, in an apparent response to moves in Australia and elsewhere to force them to do so in cases of sexual abuse. A document from the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, which deals with issues of the sacrament of confession, […]
Slavery history still affects blacks, half of practicing Christians say in survey
RNS Fifty per cent of practicing Christians say the history of American slavery continues to significantly affect the African American community today, a Barna study shows. A slightly smaller percentage of the general population of US adults surveyed (46 per cent) agrees that, almost 400 years after slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, there remains […]
CSW expresses “deep concern” over arrest of Christians in Eritrea
Religious freedom advocacy CSW has expressed “deep concern” after a number of people were arrested by Eritrean security officers at a church gathering in the country’s second largest city of Keren on Sunday. The UK-based organisation said those arrested at the gathering of Faith Missions Church members included pregnant women, children and at least one […]
New Christian in Algeria sentenced for “organising worship” in his home
A Christian father-of-two was given a suspended prison sentence and fined for holding worship at his house in north-west Algeria, reports Morning Star News. Prosecutors had sought a six-month prison sentence and a fine of 500,000 Algerian dinars ($US4,200) for the 35-year-old father in Mostaganem, a coastal town about 350 kilometres west of Algiers, for […]
New video captures sexist comments to women ministers – read by male counterparts
RNS “I can’t concentrate on your sermon because you’re so pretty.” “You do a really good job. But I think Scripture is more meaningful if read with a male voice.” “I keep picturing you naked under your robe.” For female ministers in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, comments like these […]
ESSAY: WHY CHRISTIANS MUST SUPPORT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR EVERYONE
TONY PERKINS, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and president of the Family Research Council, says religious freedom is under attack around the world “like never before”…
REFUGEES: US-BASED CHURCH WORLD SERVICE HOSTS ‘RATION CHALLENGE’ AROUND GLOBAL DAY
As World Refugee Day is marked across the globe, EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, reports on an initiative to raise awareness of the challenges refugees face and funds to support them…
ESSAY: WHAT I LEARNT FROM ASKING QUESTIONS
JOHN LAMERTON, national ministry director at Alpha Australia, says having the chance to ask hard questions can change your life…
Part of a Christian school torn down in eastern Uganda
Nairobi, KenyaMorning Star News One of two buildings of a Christian primary school in eastern Uganda was demolished after local Muslims who opposed it threatened “tough action,” sources said. The building containing three of Hope of Glory Primary School’s seven classrooms was destroyed before dawn on 2nd June in predominantly Muslim Kabuna village, Budaka District, […]