religious freedom

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholic teaching and the truths of the Gospel have a right to be heard in public debate, especially in a country where so many people claim to be Christian, Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of England and Wales.

However, the church must recognize dissent within its own ranks and not accept it as being part of a balanced discussion, he said Feb. 1 in an address to bishops who were making their “ad limina” visits.

The meeting with the bishops, who were at the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses, took place as Pope Benedict prepares to visit Great Britain in September.

Referring to the Equality Bill under debate in Britain’s Parliament, the pope said some legislation designed to guarantee equal opportunity for all people actually would impose “unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.”

Catholic bishops have said the bill means churches could be sued by anyone who was turned away as a candidate for the priesthood on grounds of gender or sexual lifestyle.

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Read the entire article on the Catholic News Service website.

James J. Jatras, advisor to AOI, explains why he signed the Manhattan Declaration. For more video go to Peter and Helen Evans website.

Peter and Helen Evans are posting interviews with signers of the Manhattan Declaration. The latest is Robert P. George. They have around 20 interviews including some Orthodox signers on their site www.peterandhelenevans.com.

HT: Onet Blog

By: A Coptic Christian

The recent killings in Nag Hammadi have cast a dark shadow over a time that for Copts (Christian of Egypt) all over the world should be very joyous. We find ourselves unable to enjoy the glory of the Lord’s birth while our brethren in Egypt are mourning the loss of their young sons.

While many of you may see this as just an unfortunate event, I see it as much more. During the past 1,358 years, the Christian of Egypt have been attacked, persecuted, scorned, enslaved, and all but annihilated by the Arab Muslim majority.

The attacks in modern times have been the worst during the last ten years, starting with the attack on a church in the Egyptian village of El-Kosheh (recently renamed “City of Peace”) which killed 23 young men and women who were attending a meeting and wounding countless others. The suspects in this shooting were all indicted, but the Copts were the ones sentenced for “stirring up violence”.

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