Indian Priest Rescued: Kidnapped from Sisters of Charity Care Home in March 2016

Fr Tom released by the Omani authorities.

By James Macintyre
Christian Today

Fr Tom was kidnapped in March 2016 when his care home in the Yemeni city of Aden came under attack. Four gunmen killed four Indian nuns, two Yemeni staff members, eight elderly residents and a security guard, while posing as relatives of one of the residents.

In May this year, an online video showed the priest in poor health, appealing for help. 'My health condition is deteriorating quickly and I require hospitalization as early as possible,' he said.

Now the Omani government has reported that it has found and freed Fr Tom.

The Arab sultanate said in a statement: 'In response to the Royal Orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and as per a request from the Vatican to assist in the rescuing of a Vatican employee, the concerned authorities in the Sultanate, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, have managed to find a Vatican government employee.

'He was transferred this morning to Muscat in preparation for his return home.'

India's Foreign Minister today tweeted confirmation of the release. Sushma Swaraj, who had insisted during recent months that the Indian government knew who was holding Fr Tom, tweeted: 'I am happy to inform that Fr Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.'

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in the UAE, Oman and Yemen issued a statement from the local Bishop Paul Hinder saying that he 'is happy to inform that Fr Tom Uzhunnalil SDB, who was abducted during the attack on the Care Home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, Yemen on 4th March 2016 has been released today. He is now is safe hands.

'The Bishop thanks all those who were involved in the release efforts and all those all over the world who prayed unceasingly for the safe release of Fr Tom. More details are awaited and will be released as and when available.'

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Sudan Arrests 7 Pastors Who Refused to Give Gov't Control of Denomination

Christian Church in Sudan (PHOTO: REUTERS / MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH)

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

Authorities in the overwhelmingly Sunni nation of Sudan have arrested seven Christian leaders and forced six others into hiding amid the government's demand that they fork over denominational leadership, sources said.

Citing multiple sources, Morning Star News reports that the seven pastors were arrested and detained for over six hours last Wednesday in Omdurman over their refusal to comply with an order from a government agency demanding they give up leadership of the Sudanese Church of Christ, a reformed denomination, to a government-appointed committee.

Among those arrested were SCOC Moderator Rev. Ayoub Mattan and SCOC's head of missions, Kuwa Shamaal. The church leaders were later released on bail. 

The Rev. Kwa Shamaal. (Morning Star News)

The pastors reportedly said that they received a letter from Sudan's Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments dated Aug. 14, ordering them to forfeit leadership of the denomination to the government-appointed church committee.

It was after the clergymen refused to comply with the order that authorities lodged cases against them, the sources added. 

The church leaders believe that the government's request for them to step down is contrary to the rules of the SCOC constitution, which calls for the committee to be elected every three years.

According to Morning Star News, the elected terms of Shamaal, Mattan and the other members of the SCOC's executive committee are set to expire in March 2018.

Along with Shamaal and Mattan, those arrested last Wednesday include SCOC Finance Secretary Abdulbagi Ali Abdulrahaman, SCOC Deputy Finance Secretary El-Amin Hassam Abdulrasool and SCOC pastors Yagoub Naway and Musa Kodi.

According to the report, six other church leaders are now in hiding after learning of the cases against them.

Shamaal had previously been arrested in 2015 and was jailed with Czech aid worker Petr Jasek. He was released in January 2017 due to insufficient evidence.

"Police asked if we still maintain our stance on our refusal to acknowledge the committee appointed by the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments, and we said yes, because it is not the work of the [government] ministry to appoint committees for the church," Shamaal told Morning Star News.

Sudan ranks as the fifth worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA's 2017 World Watch List.

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Christian Refugee Children Denied Food Unless They Recite Islamic Prayers in Sudan

Sudanese Children

By Stoyan Zaimov

Christian Post

Christian children in Sudanese refugee camps are being denied food unless their recite Islamic prayers, a Roman Catholic charity reports.

An Aid to the Church in Need worker said that the children from South Sudan are in a "terrible situation" at the camps in neighboring Sudan.

"We have heard stories where children are conditioned to say Islamic prayers before [being] given food. This is not right. These children are Christian. They should be respected for that," said the ACN source, who chose to remain anonymous.

The contact estimated that as many as 700,000 South Sudanese Christians are refugees in Sudan.

"The majority are left in camps, some in a very terrible situation. They are confined in those places. They are not allowed to go further north to the cities," the source added.

ACN added that the refugees who've fled South Sudan's ongoing civil war need government assistance to survive, but monthly food parcels for a whole family barely last over two weeks.

What is more, the Islam-dominated government of Sudan has reportedly been hampering church agencies.

"The government knows very well that the Church is the body in the world that supports enormously the needy around the world."

"The Muslim community have a charity, so the Christians have a charity, so that possibility should be given so that the people are supported," the contact said.

He compared the suffering refugees to the young Jesus Christ who fled with his parents to Egypt as a child.

"We call on humanity to have heart for refugees," the source urged. "Refugees should be given genuine respect, dignity and their rights should be respected."

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Trump Admin. Backs Christian Baker in Supreme Court Gay Wedding Cake Case; ACLU 'Shocked'

Jack Phillips, Owner, Masterpiece Cakeshop

By Stoyan Zaimov

Christian Post

The Trump administration has outlined its support for Christian baker Jack Phillips, who declined to make a cake for a gay wedding, and his Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado in a friend-of-the-court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Forcing Phillips to create expression for and participate in a ceremony that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs invades his First Amendment rights," Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall wrote for the Justice Department, according to CNN.

"The government may not enact content-based laws commanding a speaker to engage in protected expression: An artist cannot be forced to paint, a musician cannot be forced to play, and a poet cannot be forced to write."

The brief was filed Thursday, following several other friend-of-the-court briefs, including one from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission is a major religious liberty case that is being closely watched by both sides of the same-sex marriage debate.

Phillips is challenging lower court decisions that found him guilty of discriminating against same-sex couple Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig in 2012, when he refused to make a cake for their wedding.

The Supreme Court announced in June that it will hear the Christian baker's appeal. Alliance Defending Freedom lawyers filed their opening brief on behalf of Phillips last week.

Justice Department spokesperson Lauren Ehrsam said in relation to the filing that the "First Amendment protects the right of free expression for all Americans."

The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the same-sex couple, slammed the decision to file the brief.

"This Justice Department has already made its hostility to the rights of LGBT people and so many others crystal clear," said Louise Melling, ACLU's deputy legal director.

"But this brief was shocking, even for this administration. What the Trump Administration is advocating for is nothing short of a constitutional right to discriminate."

Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, creates a cake.

Attorney General Ken Paxton also led a 20-state coalition in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Phillips, highlighting the artist's "constitutionally-protected right to religious liberty."

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Coptic Christians Migrating to Libya to Find Work Face Severe Torture: We Know We'll Likely Die

A Coptic Christian holds a lit candle in remembrance of the Egyptians 

beheaded in Libya, in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 17, 2015.

By Anughar Kumar
Christian Post

Numerous Coptic Christians from Egypt cross over to Libya in search of work despite knowing that they will face severe persecution, including death.

"We know it is more likely we will die than live in Libya but we don't have a choice," said one Coptic Christian, according to a report.

"More and more people are going to Libya because of the economic crisis here," the Coptic Christian, identified only as Shenouda and who is now back in his village near the town of Samalout, about 150 miles south of Cairo, told The Sunday Times, which spoke to Christians in Egypt who were able to return from Libya alive.

"You can't get work, you can't make money in Egypt. We are aware of the dangers, particularly as Christians," he added.

To go to Libya, Egyptians have to pay smugglers nearly $400, and it takes a fortnight to reach their destination. Many of such migrants are from Minya, which has one of the highest concentration of Coptic Christians in Egypt.

In July, at least 22 Egyptian migrants were found dead in the Libyan wilderness. According to the Libyan Red Crescent, they died from heat and starvation.

While some of them don't make it to Libya due to the extreme risk the journey involves, some die due to starvation and climatic conditions in Libya, and others are persecuted by Islamists or hardline Muslim officials in that country.

Most Coptic Christians have a sign of a small black cross tattooed on their fingers, which makes it easier for Islamists and others to identify them.

"It's 100 percent dangerous to be Christian in Libya," another Christian man, identified as Peter, was quoted as saying. He was recently repatriated from Libya after being kidnapped and held for 18 days by Islamist militiamen in Benghazi. He was released after his relatives paid a ransom.

Shenouda was held, along with other Egyptian Christians, for two weeks in a prison at Tripoli's main airport. He was flogged twice a day by his Islamic guards.

Two years ago, 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded by the Islamic State terror group, also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, in Libya. 

The video of the beheading of the 21 Copts in February 2015 was titled "A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross."

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Atheists-Turned-Christians Among Volunteers Serving in Rockport, Texas

 

Samaritan's Purse volunteers are helping homeowners sort
through their belongings in Rockport, Texas

By Samaritan's Purse

Adri wrestled with suicidal thoughts as early as middle school. She got pregnant at 16 and eventually found herself homeless. Adri didn’t care who she hurt along the way as long as she got her way. She was an atheist who made fun of people who love Jesus.

But the Adri who came to Texas to serve homeowners struggling in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Harvey is completely different. She shows no signs of a past marked by hatred toward God. Adri recently stopped running from God, surrendered her life to Him, and committed herself to obedience—and that’s what led her to Rockport to serve with Samaritan’s Purse.

“I’ll never forget this first deployment with Samaritan’s Purse,” she said as tears streamed down her face. “To show people there is hope and there is a God who cares about them—this is the most humbling experience.”

Adri is one of hundreds of Samaritan’s Purse volunteers who are spreading out across southeastern Texas to work from five different bases: Rockport, Portland, Victoria, Santa Fe, Houston, and Pearland.

We praise God for the more than 800 volunteers who have already served in Jesus’ Name in Texas (as of Sept. 3). We still need many more volunteers—a thousand a day—to join in assisting families who are desperate for a glimpse of hope after the storm. The work will continue for months to come.

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