Cuba's Crackdown Continues: Pastor Under House Arrest For Loud Worship Services

Crackdown: Over One Hundred Churches in Cuba Were Demolished in 2015 after the Government Declared 2,000 Assemblies of God Churches Illegal

By Joseph Hartropp
Christian Today

Pastor Juan Carlos Nuñez was sentenced by a civil court in the city of Las Tunas, Cuba on 22 November, Morning Star News reports. Pastor Nuñez leads the house church Apostolic House of the King of Glory, which is home to 550 worshippers.

Nuñez was sentenced under Cuba's environmental protection laws with "disturbing the peace", but a source close to the pastor said the sentence was overly hasty, giving Nuñez no chance to make a defence.

"The attorney did not have time to prepare because it was a summary [immediate] judgment, without any chance to be able to defend him," the source said. "There was no advance warning."

The charge against Nuñez came from complaints by Nuñez's neighbours that his church's sound system was too loud. Nuñez says that he obliged his neighbours and replaced the church speakers with smaller, 150 watt units. His congregation meets in the courtyard of an apartment complex in Las Tunas, for which Nuñez says the minimal amplification barely sufficed.

"We complied with the neighbors' wishes, but the case still went to court," he said.

The Cuban authorities deployed a force of high-ranking 'black beret' army soldiers at the courthouse on the day of Nuñez's trial. Local observers said that such heavy force was excessive given that the court only tries civil cases and misdemeanors, not criminals charged with felonies.

Nuñez said: "This was a form of intimidation, a show of power...You see, they feared there might be protests, because they themselves know that what they are doing is unjust."

The pastor hopes to appeal what he saw as an overly harsh sentence. "Our mission is to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are suffering for that cause," he said. "We were treated as criminals and enemies of the government. We are children of God unjustly accused and convicted."

Story of Pastor's House Arrest Continues 

ISIS Genocide Must Be Punished In Court - Leading European Politicians

MPs voted unanimously to declare genocide earlier this year by the UK government is yet to take action following this move. Reuters

By Harry Farley
Christian Today

ISIS genocide crimes must be investigated by the International Criminal Court, three European politicians urged in a letter this week.

The plea claimed the ICC did have jurisdiction to look into the atrocities because thousands of jihadist fighters came from countries under the court's watch. The letter to Prosecutor Ms Fatou Bensouda came after she refused to launch an examination into the group in April 2015, claiming the ICC could not begin proceedings under it had a referral from the United Nations Security Council.

A stalemate between Russia and the West means "it is extremely unlikely that the Council will refer the situations in Syria or Iraq to the Court", the letter said.
But it said several ISIS leaders come from countries including the UK, France, Germany and Belgium where the ICC does have jurisdiction and so does not need a referral.

The ICC was established under the Rome Statute and signatories of the treaty can be investigated for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. Neither Syria or Iraq have signed the Statute so the ICC can only investigate if they are invited to by either nation or if they receive a referral by the UNSC.

The letter is signed by the Catholic peer Lord Alton of Liverpool, the Dutch politicians Dr Pieter Omtzigt and the Swedish MEP Lars Adaktusson. It says there are more than 5,000 ISIS fighters who come from European countries and so the ICC should launch its own investigation.

"Further delay in exercising existent jurisdiction only breeds impunity," they argue. "It would be proper, then, to begin preliminary examinations of atrocities committed by these foreign leaders and under their direction."

It insists that "extremely detailed and carefully researched" evidence has proved ISIS is "committing genocide against Christians and Yazidis".

It concludes: "We therefore call upon you, Madam Prosecutor, to initiate preliminary examinations into the atrocities against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq committed by foreign fighters acting on behalf of Daesh as you empowered to do so under the Rome Statute."

ISIS Genocide article continues

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Christian Students Miraculously Saved From ISIS Terrorist Suicide Bombers: 'The Lord Blinded Their Eyes'

Iraqi security forces and people gather at the 

site of a suspected air strike at a Shi'ite mosque in Iraq

By Hazel Torres

Christian Today

Death was just an arm's length away for seven Christian girls who found themselves for hours sharing a room inside a school with heavily armed Islamic State (ISIS) fighters wearing explosive suicide belts.

Despite the grave danger, the girls found a way—with God's miraculous help—to make themselves "invisible" to the eyes of the enemy: They hid under beds.

"The Lord blinded the terrorists," Bishop Youssef Touma of the Archdiocese of Chaldeans said in a statement obtained by CBN News.

"When love and courage meet, God makes a miracle," the bishop added.

The tension-filled real-life drama took place on Friday when ISIS fighters raided a school in Kirkuk, Iraq, CBN News reported.

The school was one of several targets attacked by ISIS fighters as Iraqi security forces were preparing for a major assault on the nearby city of Mosul.

"The terrorists rushed into the surrounding buildings, including the Dominican nunnery and four homes for the [Christian] students [that] had been chartered by the Archdiocese of Chaldeans," Bishop Touma said.

One of the buildings the ISIS fighters occupied was Bishop's Touma's school, which is home to about 500 students. At the time of the attack, 30 girls were trapped inside.

Miraculous story of Christian students saved from ISIS continues 

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Iraqi Army Liberates Christian Town As US Defense Secretary Flies In For Talks

Iraqi army tanks gather after the liberation of a village 

from Islamic State militants, south of Mosul.Reuters

By Reuters
Christian Today

The Iraqi army has stormed Qaraqosh, a Christian town under control of Islamic State since 2014, as part of operations to clear the entrances to Mosul, the militants' last major city stronghold in Iraq.

The advance took place as US Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived on a visit to Baghdad to meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and assess the campaign that started on Monday with air and ground support from the USled coalition.

A military statement said Iraqi army units entered the centre of Qaraqosh, about 20 kms (13 miles) southeast of Mosul, and were carrying out mop-up operations across the town which was emptied of its population in 2014, when Islamic State swept through the region.

Iraqi special units earlier this week captured Bartella, a Christian village north of Qaraqosh. The offensive on Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. Islamic State also controls parts of Syria.

The army is also trying to advance from the south and the east while Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are holding fronts in the east and north.

A Reuters photographer on the southern front saw plumes of smoke rising on Friday from a sulphur factory near that was under the control of Islamic State near the town of Qayyara, filling the air with toxic gasses. It was not clear if the militants set it on fire to cover their retreat or if it was damaged during the fighting.

The army's media office said about 50 villages had been taken from the militants since Monday in operations to prepare the main thrust into the city of Mosul itself, where 5,000 to 6,000 are dug in, according to Iraqi military estimates.

"It's the beginning of the campaign. We do feel positively about how things have started off, particularly with the complicated nature of this operation," said a US official who briefed reporters ahead of Carter's trip to Baghdad.

Report on Liberation of Christian in Mosul continues here 

Hundreds Of Christian Refugees Beaten And Sexually Abused In German Refugee Camps

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced extensive criticism within her own

 party for allowing more than a million refugees and migrants in.  Reuters

By Harry Farley
Christian Today

Hundreds of Christian refugees have been beaten and sexually abused in German refugee camps, a report by the persecution charity Open Doors revealed.

A total of 743 Christians and 10 Yazidis were victims of religious motivated attacks in camps between February and September 2016, the report showed, but it warned the figure was the "tip of the iceberg". The report was presented to a press conference in Berlin on Monday and said "religiously motivated attacks occur frequently and nationwide".

It added "a number of unreported cases" must be assumed. Only 17 per cent of refugees affected reported the incidents to the police because they feared their situation would become worse.

Christian refugees faced death threats, sexual assault and violent attacks at the hands of the Muslim-majority cohabitants in the camps. More than half of those affected said the persecution they had received was violent and 44 reported sexual attacks against them.

An overwhelming majority, 83 per cent, said the attacks had happened "several times".

Christian converts were most at risk, the report stressed. "The highest risk in participating in the survey was taken by the converts from Islam to Christianity, according to the Quran their change of faith is considered as a crime worthy of the death penalty, therefore they are explicitly in danger."

Seperate accommodation must be provided for at-risk minorities like Christians and Yazidis, it insisted. "There must be no more 'integration experiments' at the expense of Christian refugees and other religious minorities in German asylum and reception centres."

The survey was conducted by Open Doors, Action on Behalf of Persecuted Christians and the Needy (AVC), International Society for Human Rights (IGFM), Aid to the Church in Need and Central Council of Oriental Christians in Germany (ZOCD).

Open Doors report continues here

Battle For Mosul Begins - But Will There Be Any Christians Left?

Peshmerga forces advance in the east of Mosul  Reuters

By Harry Farley
Christian Today

The battle for Mosul began early on Monday morning as coalition forces sought to recapture ISIS' last major stronghold in Iraq.

Government troops backed by the US and others launched an air and ground offensive in the biggest operation in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. 

The iconic northern city of Mosul was home to thousands of Iraqi Christians before the ISIS invasion. There are thought to be few, if any, remaining.

The United States predicted Islamic State would suffer "a lasting defeat" as Iraqi forces mounted their operation. Some 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish Peshmerga militia and Sunni tribal fighters were expected to take part in the offensive to drive up to 8,000 Islamic State militants from Mosul, a city of 1.5 million people.

"I announce today the start of the heroic operations to free you from the terror and the oppression of Daesh," Prime Minister Haider Abadi said in a speech on state TV.

"We will meet soon on the ground of Mosul to celebrate liberation and your salvation," he said.

In a statement the commander of the coalition, US Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, said: "This operation to regain control of Iraq's second-largest city will likely continue for weeks, possibly longer."

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said it was a "decisive moment" in the effort to defeat ISIS.

Article continues at christiantoday.com

Tell Chinese Authorities: Release Arrested Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin Now!

By Citizen Go

Chinese authorities have detained and re-located a Roman Catholic Bishop, Peter Shao Zhumin, away from his home diocese, because, following the death of the senior Bishop in his diocese (Bishop Zhu), he (Bishop Shao) was set to be installed as the new, senior Bishop (and, full administrator) of Zhejiang (Wenzhou) - which boasts a Catholic population of 120,000.

What is the "crime" for which Bishop Shao has been detained and taken "on a trip" by police (according to Asianews.it)?

The answer is that he was appointed as Bishop by the Vatican, and not by the Communist-Party-controlled "Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association", thereby making him a Bishop of the so-called "Underground Church" in the eyes of the authorities.

It is accepted, however, that, even though "unofficial", Bishop Shao had openly served as Co-Adjutor Bishop (i.e., Assistant Bishop) under the late Bishop Zhu, who was part of the "official" Church. This fact was widely known by the authorities for at least 5 years.

Either way, Bishop Shao's detention and exile is a regrettable and retrograde step where religious freedom is concerned! Especially for a country like China, which has, in recent years, made some strides in the right direction.

But, in order to welcome China into the "Developed World" of human rights, the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities- like that suffered among Christian converts in Tibet, or among the Muslim Uighurs - as well as systematic programs which try to erase Christian symbols from the landscape - like the demolition of 1,200 crosses in Zhejiang Province - must end.

And, specifically, in the case of Bishop Shao, China must recognize that the Vatican is the spiritual and juridical headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.
As such, Bishop Shao is a licitly appointed bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, and has the right and duty to lead the flock of faithful in the Diocese of Zhejiang (Wenzhou).

Sign Petition for Release of Bishop Shao

Pakistan Steps Up Persecution With Ban On 11 Christian TV Stations

Karachi Prayer Festival organized by 
one of the banned Christian TV channels

Ruth Gledhill
Christian Today

Eleven Christian television stations in Pakistan have been declared illegal in the latest crackdown on Christians in the predominantly Muslim nation.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, a government body, has shut down Christian stations broadcasting in Urdu in an order issued at the end of September.

Ten of the channels are Protestant Christian television stations, and include Isaac TV, Gawahi TV, God Bless TV, Barkat TV, Praise TV, Zindagi TV, Shine TV, Jesus TV, Healing TV and Khushkhabari TV. They had been allowed to broadcast for 17 years.

The authorities have also banned Catholic TV, the diocesan channel in Lahore. "All the Regional Directors General are invited to take the necessary steps to immediately stop the illegal transmission of TV channels in their respective regions," the legal order stipulates.

Father Mushtaq Anjum, a Pakistan monk and priest who specializes in communications and the media, told Agenzia Fides: "The proclamation of the Good News is considered illegal.

"For some years now, with great efforts, Christian communities have organized television networks, cable or web, to talk to Christians and to speak of the Christian faith. Christians have no place in public television channels. We want to understand why they are called illegal. This is another discriminatory law that affects non-Muslims."

Worship at the Cathedral: there are nearly three million Christians
in Pakistan out of a population of more than 190 million.  Reuters

Father Anjam said the order was a serious attack on the freedom to practise a religion as well as on the vision of Pakistan founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who imagined a free as opposed to an Islamic society.  He described the bans as "intimidation".

Story of Christian persecution in Pakistan contunues 

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Aleppo Has Become A 'Living Hell' Warns Christian Leader In Syria

By Ruth Gledhill
Christian Today

Aleppo has become a "living hell" according to one of the most senior Christian leaders still in the besieged city in Syria.

Mgr Georges Abou Khazen, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, called for an instant ceasefire.

Speaking in the wake of the deaths of yet more children this week and last week in the relentless airstrikes, Khazen said: "Aleppo is now a living hell - a hell that touches everyone, east and west, full of death and destruction, refugees and lack of electricity and water, families who touch pain with their hands on a daily basis".

He said world powers must take responsibility and make "the logic of peace" a priority.

The latest deaths came in an airstrike which devastated a school in the predominantly Christian district of al-Sulaymaniyah. According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, the school was targeted in a "terrorist" attack, the term the regime uses for rebels.
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Air strikes targeting rebel-held districts of Aleppo also intensified after a lull of several days which the Syrian army said was designed to allow civilians to leave.
Khazen told Asia News: "We do not want all these deaths, this destruction. Everyone here is suffering. Families in both east and west continue to count and mourn their dead."

Christian article continues

Faith Leaders Show Solidarity for Religious Freedom

Faith Leaders Call on Government Officials 

to Renounce Biased Claims in Religious Liberty Report

by Gretchen R. Crowe
Our Sunday Visitor Weekly


In a sign of solidarity, 17 interfaith leaders in a letter called on President Barack Obama, Senate President pro tempore Sen. Orrin Hatch, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to “renounce publicly the claim that ‘religious freedom’ and ‘religious liberty’ are ‘code words’ or a ‘pretext’ for various forms of discrimination.”

The assertions had been put forth in a report issued last month by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which also claimed that “religion is being used as both a weapon and a shield by those seeking to deny others equality.”

continue reading at https://www.osv.com 

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Top Cardinal: Islam Wants to Conquer the World, and the West Is Letting It

'The ultimate goal of Islam is world conquest and the “supine”
West is only helping it achieve that aim,' Cardinal  Raymond Burke 

by Nick Hallett
Breitbart

Speaking in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Cardinal Raymond Burke accused Westerners of being too weak to acknowledge the incompatibility of Christianity and Islam.

“It is clear that Muslims have as their ultimate goal conquest and power over the world,” the American cardinal said. “Islam, through sharia, their law, will rule the world and permit violence against infidels, such as Christians. But we find it hard to recognise this reality and to respond by defending the Christian faith.”

“Many people do not understand what Islam really is,” he added. “They create these slogans: we all believe in the same God, we are all united by love and so on. It’s not true.”

He also said that modern Christians are often unwilling to proclaim their beliefs, and should not be afraid to convert people of other faiths.

“Christians have neglected a fundamental truth: there is only one Saviour of the world: Jesus Christ. We must not proselytize, imposing Christianity, but if we believe in Jesus it is our duty to bear witness.

Continue reading Cardinal Burke's remarks here 

Bloggers Note: God bless Cardinal Burke and the few who speak out against islam.  He is correct in that we don't worship the same God.  Christians and Jews worship the one true God; whereas, muslims worship a false god, one created by a self-proclaimed prophet, a war-lord, who used this made up religion to justify the pillage of Christian lands and the rape and murder of Christians and Jews who lived there.  

Persecution Unveiled has been called by God to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to speak up and act on behalf of those who have no voice.  Follow us on  Pinterest, like us on Facebook, and visit our website using this link.  

Iraqi Archbishop: 'In The Midst Of All This Violence, Jesus Is Needed'

The Archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda has
 appealed for Christians to stay in the Middle East

By James Mcintyre
Christian Today

An archbishop in Iraq has appealed for Christians to stay in the Middle East, saying that they have "no choice" but to help bring about peace to the troubled region.

Bar Warda, the Catholic Chaldean archbishop of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said that the Church must play a role in "rebuilding the future", providing jobs for communities and helping people to preserve their dignity.

Archbishop Warda, who is opening the Catholic University of Erbil, told the National Review: 

"The Middle East needs Jesus. Christians need to stay. And not just to stay, but to live in a dignified way, and to be able to preach and to give Jesus. In the midst of all this violence, Jesus is needed."

"A violent, troubled Middle East needs mercy. Jesus is mercy...Most of the communities that you have here — they came running from violence, from persecution, looking for a better life...Enough of wars, enough of violence, enough of all these atrocities. We have to help people live a peaceful life. There's no other choice."

Of the university, the archbishop added: "It's a sign of strength. When people would destroy your churches and your monastery and try to destroy you, you have to come up with a clear message, not just in words that we are here and this is the future. It's not just we are here, but we also have something strong here."

He said that Christians and the Church must not accept "victim status" in the region. "I would like that the Church would have a role in rebuilding the future," he said. "I don't like to see our people marginalized. Being a victim is a sad story, but to accept this status that you are a victim is a tragedy. So you have to encourage people to really speak and act and to take an action, provide also some decent jobs for our community."

Many Christians stuck in refugee camps in Erbil feel abandoned by Christians in the West, according to a report published this month by Aid to the Church in Need.  Already there are more than 1.4 million displaced people in refugee camps in northern Iraq.

Around 125,000 Christians were forced from their homes when ISIS launched its offensive in northern Iraq in 2014. The attack, which left Christians with the choice of converting to Islam under threat of death or fleeing, first hit predominantly Christian Mosul in June that year, and then two months later came to surrounding towns in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.

website: christiantoday.com

12,587 Syrian Refugees Admitted in FY 2016: 12,486 Muslims, 68 Christians, 24 Yazidis

By Patrick Goodenough
CNS News

The administration admitted a total of 12,587 Syrian refugees during the just-ended fiscal year, exceeding the target President Obama declared last fall by 2,587 (20.5 percent).

Of the 12,587, the vast majority are Sunni Muslims – 12,363 (98.2 percent) – while another 103 are identified in State Department Refugee Processing Center data simply as Muslims and a further 20 as Shi’a Muslims.

Sixty-eight of the 12,587 Syrian refugees (0.5 percent) are Christians. They comprise 16 Catholics, eight Orthodox, five Protestants, four Jehovah’s Witnesses, one Greek Orthodox, and 34 refugees self-identified simply as Christians.

The remainder of the Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S. in FY 2016 are 24 Yazidis, eight refugees with religion given as “other,” and one with “no religion.”

The final month of the fiscal year followed the pattern of previous ones: 1,847 Syrian refugees were admitted, of whom 1,812 were Sunnis, 13 were other Muslims, 12 were Christians, seven were Yazidis, and three were “other” religion.

Throughout the year, the numbers of Christians and other religious minorities among the Syrians granted refugee status in the U.S. were dwarfed by those of Sunni Muslims.

Although the majority of Syrians are Sunnis, the number of Sunnis among the refugees was still disproportionately high, and the number of Christians disproportionately low, when compared to the overall population makeup.

When the conflict began in 2011, an estimated 10 percent of the Syrian population (1.5-1.7 million) was Christian and 74 percent was Sunni Muslim.

In contrast, Christians accounted for just half of one percent of the refugees resettled in the United States in FY 2016, while Sunnis accounted for 98.2 percent.

All segments of the Syrian population are affected by the devastating civil war, which has witnessed grave atrocities by minorities waged by the Sunni jihadists as well as sectarian-fueled bloodshed involving Sunnis, Shi’a (including Iranian and Hezbollah elements) and adherents of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect.

Estimates of the number of Christians who have fled their homeland vary, but the European Parliament this year said at least 700,000 had done so, while a Chaldean Catholic bishop from Aleppo last March put the figure at at least one million. The United Nations reports that 4,806,702 million Syrians are registered as “persons of concern” in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and North Africa. It does not give a denominational breakdown.

The U.S. government administration has determined that atrocities carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) against religious minorities in areas under its amount to genocide.

CNS News article continues 

Coach Ramps Up Fight for Prayers on 50-yard Line

Trump Decries 'Absolutely Outrageous' Attack on 'Religious Liberty'

Joe Kennedy, former assistant football coach at

Bremerton High School in Washington state

By Bob Unruh
World Net Daily

NFL players are using the playing of the national anthem to promote a social agenda, and it’s already spread to college and high school athletes.

There have been no serious repercussions.

But let a high school coach, on his own initiative, kneel in prayer at midfield after a game and watch out.

That’s the substance of the legal argument developing for Joe Kennedy, an assistant football coach for Bremerton High School in Washington state until he was fired for taking a knee on the field before and after games and praying.

A district court denied his request to halt the school district’s discrimination against him, and now he has notified the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of his plan to appeal

“I’ve attended the games this season as a spectator, but it’s been a punch in the gut to be in the stands,” Kennedy said in a statement released by First Liberty Institute, which is working on his case.

“I hope the court will rule that I can get back on the sidelines and keep coaching these amazing guys.”

Kennedy sued after Bremerton High School terminated him for offering a brief, quiet prayer at the 50-yard line after football games. In the lawsuit, Kennedy’s attorneys claimed the Bremerton School District violated Kennedy’s First Amendment rights.

“If the Constitution protects the right of a football coach to kneel in protest, it should certainly protect the right of a football coach to kneel in prayer,” said Mike Berry, the institute’s senior counsel.

Kennedy wants only to get his job back; he is seeking no monetary damages.

Coach's story continues

Major Leader Of The Vatican Declares: ‘Stop Saying That Allah Is The God Of Christianity.....

Allah Is Not The God Of The Bible.’

Bloggers Note: Below is an excerpt from an article  found on Shoebat.com.

By Theodore Shoebat
Shoebat.com

A major leader of the Vatican, Cardinal Raymond Burke, has declared Allah is not the God of Christianity, as we read in one recent report:

Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American and former head of the highest court at the Vatican, said that Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God because the Islamic god “is a governor,” and Islam is Sharia, the law “which comes from Allah” and which “must dominate every man eventually.”

“I hear people saying to me, well, we’re all worshipping the same God, we all believe in love,” said Cardinal Burke in an August teleconference about his latest book, as reported by EWTN’s National Catholic Register. 

“But I say stop a minute and let’s examine carefully what Islam is, and what our Christian faith teaches us both,” he said.
The cardinal, who is an archbishop and the patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, explained that in Christianity God is the creator of reason and the “giver of revelation,” and His law is written “on our hearts” and “we’re given a divine grace to live according to that law. 

“This is not true in Islam,” said Cardinal Burke. 

“I don’t believe it’s true that we’re all worshipping the same God, because the God of Islam is a governor,” he said. “In other words, fundamentally Islam is, Sharia is their law, and that law, which comes from Allah, must dominate every man eventually.”

“And it’s not a law that’s founded on love,” said Burke. “To say that we all believe in love is simply not correct.” 

“And while our experience with individual Muslims may be one of people who are gentle and kind and so forth, we have to understand that in the end what they believe most deeply, that to which they ascribe in their hearts, demands that they govern the world,” he said. 

“Whereas, in the Christian faith we’re taught that by the development of right reason, by sound metaphysics, and then that which leads to faith and to the light and strength that’s given by faith, we make our contribution to society also in terms of its governance,” he said.

Born in 1948 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, Raymond Leo Burke attended seminary in La Crosse, Washington, D.C., and Rome, where he was ordained a priest by Pope Paul VI in 1975. Ordained a bishop in 1995 by Blessed Pope John Paul II, he served for almost nine years as Bishop of La Crosse, where he founded the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and over four years as Archbishop of St. Louis. 

 Since 2008, he has served as Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome. He was named a cardinal in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Burke has written and spoken widely on Roman Catholic canon law, as well as on the Holy Eucharist, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the sanctity of human life.

Persecution Unveiled has been called by God to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to speak up and act on behalf of those who have no voice.  Follow us on  Pinterest, like us on Facebook, and visit our website using this link.  

China's Plan Called 'Religious Winter'

'Laws are becoming more and more specific when suppressing Christian family churches'

By Joseph Farah
World Net Daily

A series of proposed restrictions by the Chinese government is setting up a “religious winter,” a Christian group that works in the communist nation contends, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

“Studying the newly revised Regulations on Religious Affairs, it is evident that the [Communist] Party wants to take charge of religion,” a pastor, identified only as Zhou, told China Aid.

China Aid is an international non-profit Christian human rights group that promotes religious freedom and the rule of law in China.

“We believe that religious freedom is the first freedom, which lays the foundation for all other basic human rights,” the group explains. “By exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused, and spiritually and legally equipping the leaders to defend their faith and freedom, China Aid strives to promote religious freedom for all.”

In a report based on sources in China, the organization said the religious regulations drafted by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China “aim to suppress all unofficial religious activities via dispersing Christian house churches, silencing Tibetan and Xinjiang separatists and undermining the Vatican’s influence on Chinese Catholics.”

The draft regulations have been released to “gather opinion” from the public, but it will be the council that formally adopts them, probably as early as October.

“Currently the draft, based on the previous Regulations on Religious Affairs, contains nine chapters and 74 articles. Some of the proposed articles include prohibitions on ‘organizing citizens to attend religious trainings, conferences and activities abroad,’ ‘preaching, organizing religious activities, and establishing religious institutions or religious sites at schools,’ and ‘providing religious services through the internet,'” the report said.

For the rest of this report, and more, go to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

website: wnd.com

Christians 'Crushed Under Steamroller' and 'Hung on a Cross Over Fire' in North Korea

Christians suffer harsh persecution in North Korea 

under dictator Kim Jong-Un's leadership

By Carey Lodge
Christian Today

Christians in North Korea face rape, torture, enslavement, and being killed for their faith, a damning new report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has warned.

CSW, a UK-based religious freedom charity, said in the report, Total Denial: Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief in North Korea, that freedom of religion or belief "is largely non-existent" under dictator Kim Jong-Un's leadership.

"Religious beliefs are seen as a threat to the loyalty demanded by the Supreme Leader, so anyone holding these beliefs is severely persecuted," the report says.

"Christians suffer significantly because of the anti-revolutionary and imperialist labels attached to them by the country's leadership."

Among the documented incidents against Christians are "being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges and trampled underfoot".

Other crimes include "extra-judicial killing, extermination, enslavement/forced labour, forcible transfer of population, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance, rape and sexual violence, and other inhumane acts".

Though the regime officially says there are just 13,000 Christians in North Korea, the true figure is believed to be much higher. Cornerstone Ministries International, which works with North Korean Christians in the country as well as in China, estimates that there are between 200-300,000 in total.

Believers are forced to practise their faith in secret, and if caught, get sent to North Korea's notorious hard labour camps. One escapee told CSW that while he was detained, he met a prisoner who was sent to the camp simply because he had spent a month in China studying the Bible.

"A policy of guilt by association applies, meaning that the relatives of Christians are also detained regardless of whether they share the Christian belief," the report says.

"Even North Koreans who have escaped to China, and who are or become Christians, are often repatriated and subsequently imprisoned in a political prison camp."

Story of North Korean atrocities against Christians continues

Aleppo's Children Turn to God to Stop Massacres

CBN News

Hundreds of Christian and Muslim children in the Syrian city of Aleppo will gather Oct. 6 to pray for the defenseless children that are being slaughtered in their country.

The school children will put their signatures and their fingerprints on an appeal calling on world leaders to stop the constant killing of children, according to Armenian Catholic Archbishop Boutros Marayati.

"But above all, they will pray. They will pray for all of their peers. And we trust in the fact that children's prayer is more powerful than ours," Marayati said.

According to Marayati, representatives of the government and the Syrian army met to explain that an appeal would go out to the civilian population in neighborhoods under rebel control. The appeal states that gates will be left open to let people leave dangerous areas and travel to safe zones.

Many civilians left their neighborhoods and were welcomed in other areas that are government controlled by the army, but many had to stay behind.

According to Marayati some residents may not be able to leave due to the appeal's rules.

"In fact, many civilian families left those neighborhoods and were welcomed in areas controlled by the government army, confirming that the appeal had somehow arrived at its destination. For groups arriving, housing facilities were set up for the reception. But it was not a mass evacuation. Perhaps many cannot leave," he said.

"And the appeal also contained an expiration date, and the ultimatum expires in coming days. New blood will be shed if the powers behind the two warring parties do not decide to really put an end to this dirty war," Marayati said.

website: www1.cbn.com


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