Vatican City, Jan 11, 2013 / 01:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict’s mass of 2.5 million followers in eight languages during his first month on Twitter has one Vatican priest calling the pontiff’s online presence “a new frontier” of evangelization. Father Paolo Padrini, a collaborator of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said it is good that the Pope has so many followers, but it even more important that the Pope “seeks to co-exist and share on Twitter.” “Being present in social media is evangelizing, if just for the fact that he is present with his words,” he told CNA Jan. 11.

“It’s a great joy to see the Pope’s words being disseminated, a joy that is held by all believers.” Twitter is a social media service that allows users to send out 140-character messages, called “tweets,” to other users who follow their accounts. Followers and others may then share these tweets with their own followers with a “re-tweet.”
 
The Pope’s first tweet on his personal account went out on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Over 64,000 people retweeted his introductory message on his English-language account “Pontifex,” while over 33,000 did so for his Spanish-language account “Pontifex_es.” As of Jan. 11, he has sent out only 21 tweets. He has shared his favorite memory of Christmas, asked for prayers for an end to the Syria conflict and exhorted others to look to Jesus Christ. “Following Christ’s example, we have to learn to give ourselves completely,” the Pope said on Twitter Jan. 9. “Anything else is not enough.” Anyone on Twitter may interact with any other user. Those who have replied to the Pope range from the devout, the appreciative and the inquisitive to the flippant, irreverent and even obscene.

The Pope’s followers are numerous indeed. His English-language account has over 1.4 million subscribers, his Spanish-language account has 575,000 and his Italian-language account has 265,000. His tweets also go out in French, German, Polish, Portuguese and Arabic. His Arabic-language account is the least popular but still has a respectable 18,000 followers.

  With parliament working to decide on an appropriate electoral law to use in elections later this year, an old proposal has reemerged from the dustbin to take headlines this past week. The Orthodox Gathering’s proposed draft law gained attention when the four major Christian parties agreed to back it in a meeting last Monday. […]

A statement issued by Bkirki after a Christian summit on Friday called for agreeing on an electoral law that secures fair and just representation for all Lebanese communities. "The participants in the summit were Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel and Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh,” the statement said, remarking […]

  BEIRUT: A French court agreed to the release of Lebanese George Abdallah, who has been imprisoned in the country for 28 years, on condition that he leaves France, TFI News reported Thursday. The report quoted French judicial sources as saying that the 61-year-old Lebanese man was granted parole on condition that he is expelled from […]

  Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh have expressed support to a parliamentary draft-law that preserves coexistence. “Bkirki is neither with an Orthodox proposal nor with a Maronite proposal,” al-Liwaa daily quoted al-Rahi as saying on Friday. The Maronite church “only supports a Lebanese proposal,” he said. Audeh also told al-Liwaa […]

CAIRO, EGYPT( Catholic Online) – The history of Christianity in Egypt dates back to the visit of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to that land. (Matt. 2) It predates any claimed Islamic history in that land. To the Christians who live in that historic land, the history of the Christian Church is the history of Egypt.

The Evangelist Mark brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Egypt in 61 A.D. and planted the Church there, deep in the soil of that land of martyrs and saints. Egypt has a proud, long, unbroken and vital Christian heritage. We must pray for, stand with, and defend Christians in Egypt as hostility toward the Christian faith grows under the Morsi regime. The majority of Christians in Egypt are Coptic Orthodox. The very word "Copt" comes from an early Greek name for Egypt. Christianity and Egypt have a long and holy history. In addition, there is a strong, ancient and devout community of Coptic Catholic Christians. The relationship between the two Churches is strong – and growing stronger under the persecution which they face together.

One of the reasons why the persistent and accelerating persecution of Christians in Egypt is so reprehensible is that their claim to live in this land is so strong, vital and clear. This is a real matter of social justice which is not being addressed by our Nation. This is an egregious violation of fundamental human rights. Yet, who is standing up for these Christians in Egypt?  Where is the President, the Secretary of State, the Obama administration in the face of the escalating hostility shown to Christians in Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are we not reading about it or seeing reports on the main stream media? We regularly cover the plight of our Coptic Orthodox and Catholic Christian brethren in Egypt. They are heroic witnesses to the Gospel. Their suffering and the shedding of their blood for the ancient faith should draw every Christian to our knees. It demands a response of support and solidarity from all who can help.

Washington D.C., Jan 9, 2013 / 02:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Reports in Iran indicate that a Christian pastor who was arrested on Christmas Day has been released, while a second pastor remains in prison for his religious beliefs. “Iran must not be allowed to persecute individuals because of their faith,” stressed Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based American Center for Law and Justice, which has been monitoring the plight of Christians in Iran.

In a Jan. 7 blog post, Sekulow relayed news of Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani’s release from prison in Iran after being arrested on Christmas Day. The 35-year-old pastor was originally arrested in 2009 after complaining to local authorities about his son being forced to read the Quran at school.   Found guilty of apostasy for converting from Islam to Christianity, Nadarkhani was ordered to recant or face execution. But despite numerous threats, he refused to abandon his Christian beliefs. An execution order for the pastor was reported in February 2012. As fears of a secret execution grew, the American Center for Law and Justice worked to keep an international spotlight on the situation, prompting pressure from the United States, the United Nations and Brazil, which has a key economic partnership with Iran.

Amid increasing calls for the pastor’s freedom, Nadarkhani was acquitted in September 2012. While the court preserved his three-year sentence for “evangelizing to Muslims,” it determined that his time spent in prison was adequate, and the remaining time – about 45 days – could be served on probation.  

However, on Christmas Day, Iranian sources reported that the pastor was re-arrested and order to serve the remainder of his sentence in jail.
  Religious liberty advocates immediately raised concerns, noting not only that Iran had violated the terms of the pastor’s release, but also that his attorney, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, had been imprisoned as well.

A storm that has been lashing Lebanon since the weekend dropped snow on the coast in northern areas, blocked major mountainous roads and forced the closure of schools for a third day as the worst is yet to come. The National News Agency said Wednesday that the snow reached the coast in the northern town […]