Washington D.C., Jan 18, 2013 / 04:05 am (CNA).- Amid speculation over the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, concerns have been raised about the possibility of appointing individuals known for criticizing the views of the bishops. “From the steps Obama has taken in the last year, it would seem that he is trying to diminish Church influence,” a Vatican official told CNA. The official, who requested anonymity, pointed to the administration’s contraception mandate as an example. The controversial mandate, which has been repeatedly criticized by the bishops in the U.S., requires employers to offer insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and drugs that can cause early abortions.

The Vatican official explained that it is “contrary to the ends of diplomacy” to send a diplomat who has publicly expressed views that are “adverse to the institution of the country he is being sent to.” “The choice of an outspoken critic of the Church would be an unfortunate misstep,” he said. In a recent article in the National Catholic Reporter, renowned Vatican journalist John L. Allen Jr. listed names of individuals who are “making the rounds” as possible appointments for U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. The previous ambassador, Miguel Diaz, recently stepped down to teach at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

Two of the individuals listed by Allen are known for recently criticizing the stance of the U.S. bishops with regard to respect life issues and religious freedom. One of these men is Stephen F. Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America and formerly the chair of the university’s politics department.

KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) – As Islamists secure power in Egypt, freedom of religion seems a lost hope for many. Christians are being jailed, their property destroyed, and Coptic Christians are fleeing their homeland. According to a report published on Egypt For Christ, last week a widowed mother, Nadia Mohamed Ali, and her seven children were sentenced to 15 years in prison by an Egyptian court in the city of Beni Suef, located about 75 miles south of Cairo. The reason for the sentence was because Nadia and her children converted to Christianity.  Nadia was born into a Christian family, but when she married her Muslim husband 23 years ago, the law required that she convert to Islam. After he died, she converted back to Christianity with her children. This was not unusual when former President Mubarak was in power.

It is believed that this harsh sentence reflects a new mood in Egypt as a result of the constitution Morsi finalized in late December. Under the new constitution, sharia law has been given much greater weight. Consequently, the Coptic community is fearful that this is a sign of a new wave of persecution. They may be right. Based on a report published by the Assyrian International News Agency, in the Fayoum province about 80 miles south west of Cairo, Islamists destroyed the social services building belonging to the Coptic Church. The Church had all the required permits, as well as agreements with the village mayor and elders.  But Muslims accused the Copts of building a church, and mosques throughout the area called for their members to destroy it. Hundreds of Muslims carrying hammers and pipes answered the call. They destroyed the social services building to shouts of "god is great." The authorities did not arrive until after the building was destroyed, and no one has been arrested. Now, local Copts are fearful to go out of their homes. 

  التقى البطريرك الماروني الكردينال مار بشارة بطرس الراعي، بعد ظهر اليوم، في الصرح البطريركي- بكركي، سفيرة اسبانيا في لبنان ميلا غروس هرنانو في زيارة أعربت فيها عن اعجابها "بالشعب اللبناني المضياف وبالثقافة التي يتمتع بها". وقالت ان "اللقاء كان غنيا جدا. فصاحب الغبطة رجل ذكي بامتياز. انه شخصية مميزة ليس على صعيد كنيسته وحسب […]

  President Michel Suleiman stressed that the parliamentary elections will be held on time, while emphasizing the government’s agreement on an electoral law based on proportional representation. He said: “The draft law was referred to parliament for discussion and the ministers should not violate the government’s consensus over the proposal.”   He made his remarks at […]

Washington D.C., Jan 16, 2013 / 04:55 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A U.S. citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith could face execution if the government is not pressured to release him, warned an international religious freedom advocacy group. “As more individuals and governments around the world take notice of Pastor Saeed’s case, the pressure on Iran to release him and stop violating religious liberty will increase,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the Washington, D.C. – based American Center for Law and Justice. In a Jan. 14 post on the law center’s website, Sekulow explained that immediate action is essential “as the Iranian regime is clearly bent on rushing through a sham trial that leaves counsel unprepared and in the dark about the nature of the charges against their client.”

Pastor Saeed Abedini, 32, is a U.S. citizen who initially invoked the anger of the Iranian government by helping start house churches after converting from Islam to Christianity. However, the two parties arrived at an agreement in 2009 allowing the pastor to travel freely in the country if he stopped working with the underground churches. He instead turned his focus toward humanitarian efforts with non-religious orphanages. Nevertheless, the pastor was arrested in September during a trip to work with those orphanages and visit family, the American Center for Law and Justice said, and he has been imprisoned illegally for more than three months. Now, Sekulow warned, Abedini is scheduled to go on trial before one of Iran’s most notorious “hanging judges. He explained that Abedini’s lawyer was permitted to see the court file only one week before the Jan. 21 court date. The only charges that the attorney could decipher dated back to 2000, the year of the pastor’s conversion to Christianity.

“The supposed charge levied against him, actions against the national security of Iran, is a typical charged brought by the radical Islamic regime against those it wishes to persecute for their religious beliefs,” Sekulow said, adding that the court file “indicated that this national security charge was directly related to his work starting a house church movement in Iran.” In a recent letter, Abedini said that he has been beaten and told that he “will hang” for his “faith in Jesus.”

 It was the biggest performance in the short history of the Damascus Opera House. On Sunday, Jan. 6, a worldwide audience watched embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad take center stage and deliver a familiar monologue on the legitimacy, resilience, and victimization of his authoritarian regime. Assad has made four similar speeches since the beginning of […]

Demonstrators blocked the road outside the French embassy in Beirut on Monday after a French court postponed the release of Lebanese leftist militant George Abdallah, who has spent 28 years in jail, as Prime Minister Najib Miqati condemned the “unjustified” delay. Dozens of leftist protesters and supporters of Abdallah rallied in front of Paris’ embassy […]