Missionaries of the World

A senior Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE) Mar Aprem has denied "a possible merger" of his Church with the Roman Catholic Church. He said that the question of merger of the ACOE with the Roman Catholic Church did not arise at all. The metropolitan was reacting to reports in a section of media that a "possible merger' between the two Churches is in the offing.

A Christian worker was sent him to jail on false charges of blasphemy against Islam by the Pakistani Police on October 27, a rights group said. Sweeper and cleaner Barkat Masih, who converted from Hinduism to Christianity, was detained October 1 in the eastern city of Bahawalpur following a dispute with co-workers, explained Pakistan-based advocacy group World Vision in Progress (WVIP). Rights activists said his problems began during a September night-shift at a Muslim shrine, where two men demanded his keys.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has responded to criticism from people accusing the Reverend Billy Graham of becoming too political by praising Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. "Throughout his public ministry spanning more than six decades, Mr. Graham has been careful to remain non-partisan, but has been a consistent advocate for a biblical worldview and taken a strong stand for biblical values with respect to political issues," said Larry Ross, spokesperson for Billy Graham.

Church leaders in south-west London have committed themselves to adopting a healthier lifestyle. The group of 10 leaders were shocked into taking action after a New York Times article reported higher rates of obesity, hypertension and depression among church leaders. The 'Vicar's Vitality' campaign was launched by Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) London South West with the aim of giving local church leaders easy access to fitness facilities. The YMCA conducted its own research ahead of the campaign launch, with some alarming results.

Christians from Russia's Orthodox community are reportedly demanding that the country's Apple division remove the famous half-bitten apple logo from its products and replace it with a cross, because they find the apple image offensive to their beliefs. In popular culture, an apple is often used to represent the fruit that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge when tempted by the devil, as found in Genesis 3 in the Bible – although the exact type of fruit is not mentioned in Scripture.

A Christian girl who had been abducted from Sukkur in Sindh was recently remanded to her alleged kidnapper husband by the Sindh High Court after rejecting all appeals by her lawyer to send her home with her father. Justice Naamatullah Phulpoto rejected the requests of Rebecca's father, Younis Masih and his lawyer, Mukesh Kumar to return the girl home to Darul Aman. Instead, she was instructed to go home with her Muslim kidnapper turned husband, Manzar Daharand; Phulpoto then adjourned the case to early November.

The head of the Vatican department for missionary work issued a message to millions of Catholics and the Communist Government in China, expressing hope for a fruitful dialogue. Published in Italian, English and Chinese and titled Five years after the publication of Benedict XVI's Letter to the Church in China, the 2,500-word message by Prefect Cardinal Fernando Filoni of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples carries a firm but cordial tone.

Church Mission Society is appealing for donations to fund the training of more church leaders around the world. The organisation said that in some of the places it was working, 95 per cent of ordained ministers had only had a few weeks of training. "It seems unthinkable – yet, around the world, far too many churches have leaders not yet properly equipped for their God-given role," said Reverend Joseph Steinberg, Director of Mission Stewardship at CMS.

Archbishop of Trivandrum Siro-Malankaresi Church, Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal and five others were named as new cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI. The announcement, made by Pope during his weekly general audience in Rome, came as a major recognition to the hard work and devotion by the Kerala-based Archbishop. According to information, the other new cardinals will be the American James Michael Harvey, Lebanon's Bechara Boutros Rahi, Manila's Luis Antonio Tagle, Nigeria's John Onaiyekan and Colombia's Ruben Salazar Gomez. After the consistory ceremony on November 24, they would join the Vatican's College of Cardinals who will elect the new pope.

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land (ACOHL) has slammed Israel's plans to build a separation wall in the Cremisan Valley to protect itself from terrorist attacks. In a press release, Catholic ordinaries deny claims that the Vatican and Israeli authorities had reached an agreement allowing the construction of the wall, illegal according to a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 2004. Unmoved by the sensitive situation, some foreign newspapers have recently accused the Salesians of the Cremisan convent of collusion with the Israeli Government.

Justice A S Naidu Commission probing into the 2008 killing of Hindu religious leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal and the subsequent communal riots in the backward Odisha district has sent notices to as many as 55 individuals to appear before it and record their statements. They commission said can make their appearance either personally or through their lawyers.

A Catholic priest was among 61 foreign nationals rewarded by the Bangladesh Government yesterday for their outstanding contribution to the birth of Bangladesh in 1971. Italian Xaverian missioner Father Marino Rigon was conferred a Bangladesh Liberation War Honour and Friends of Liberation War Honour by President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a ceremony in Dhaka.

The Philippines has a new saint after Pope Benedict XVI yesterday canonized Pedro Calungsod, a 17-year-old catechist from Cebu who was martyred in Guam in 1672. Church bells rang while thousands in Cebu cheered, clapped and prayed as they watched a live three-hour television broadcast of the canonization at the Vatican. Calungsod was formally beatified on March 05, 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II and was officially canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on October 21, 2012.

Thirteen people have been sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment by a fast track court in Odisha for their involvement in 2008 Kandhamal riots. Additional Sessions Judge (fast track Court-1) Sobhan Kumar Das acquitted six others for lack of evidence on Saturday. The judge fined the convicts Rs.5,000 each or ordered them to undergo six more months of rigorous imprisonment in default of payment.

A rescued Norfolk church is among the winners of this year's English Heritage Angel Awards. St Mary's, West Somerton, has a thatched roof and medieval round tower, as well as wall paintings from the 14th century. Pauline Burkitt and Simon Pleasley oversaw a major restoration project to replace the thatched roof, restore the plastering and install new drains to keep the magnificent wall paintings dry. Mr Pleasley said: "Because we are church wardens we are responsible for the fabric of the church. People don't realise that.

Churches across the United Kingdom are saying prayers today for doctors, nurses and others working in healthcare. Healthcare Sunday is held each year by the Christian Medical Fellowship, Christian Nurses and Midwives, and the Healthcare Christian Fellowship. The day gives churches the opportunity to show their support for healthcare workers as they live out God's call to care for the sick.

An event which has leant even greater meaning to today's celebration of World Missions Sunday and during the Synod for the New Evangelization. The Pope speaks of "a happy coincidence" and indicated in the words of the Gospel The Son of Man came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (cf. Mk 10: 45), "how to be evangelizers, called to bear witness and to proclaim the Christian message, configuring ourselves to Christ and following his very path. This is true both for the mission ad Gentes and for the new evangelization in places with ancient Christian roots."

An Indian evangelical pastor was recovering of injuries after he and his family were beaten by "anti-Christian" Hindu extremists near the capital New Delhi, a major mission group and relatives said. Lal Mani Prasad of the Immanuel Believers Fellowship congregation was reportedly beaten last Sunday, October 14, at his home in the Narela area of North West Delhi while getting ready for his church's Sunday service.

British Political Party leader Nick Griffin, who is Chairman of the British National Party (BNP) and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England, has told Premier Christian Radio that he is prepared to go to prison to protect the rights of Christians and heterosexuals. He was speaking on the radio station after comments he wrote on Twitter in response to a court ruling against two Christian B&B owners sparked anger.

Rev. Billy Graham, a famous evangelist who encouraging people to vote based on biblical values, in a full page advertising in Thursday's Wall Street Journal. Graham also urged voters to pray that America remains one nation under God. Political experts say a push to support biblical principles usually appeals to the Republican Party. But it's unlikely to sway voters who already have their minds made up. During the next few weeks Graham's ad will run in USA and several other newspapers in as many as a dozen states.

On hearing a writ petition filed by Human Rights activists and survivors of the Kandhamal violence, the Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Government of Odisha, the State's Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The petition, filed under the banner of Initiative for Justice, Peace and Human Rights, sought fresh investigation and re-trials outside the State of Odisha. The State has dismally failed to get convictions in the two Fast Track courts in 30 cases of murder by hacking and burning in the anti-Christian violence in August 2008.

Twenty six year old Vijayakumar from Palliyadi village in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu in India who has been bedridden for several years, hardly expected a girl Manjusha next door to bring back lost smiles on his face. Manjusha, (19) who studied up to Class X, could bring about that magical transformation in a disabled person's life, as she entered into wedlock with Vijaykumar at a simple function in the groom's home on Thursday. "It is like compassion and love tying the knot between two humble souls", said Jayakumar, the groom's younger brother told by the phone at their home at Palliyadi Cherikadai.

A Catholic report on minority religious freedom in Asia said persecution of Christians continued or worsened in many countries in Asia during the last year. Issued yesterday in Rome by Aid to the Church in Need, a Vatican foundation charged with helping Catholics in poorer countries spread the faith, the report singled out a "terrible year" for Pakistan following the killings of two top politicians, Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, who opposed strict blasphemy laws.

Two more house church members have been arrested in the Iranian city of Shiraz. They belong to a Church of Iran house church that was raided on 12 October by security forces. Seven members were rounded up during the raid and taken to an Intelligence Ministry detention centre. Afsar Bahmani and Massoud Rezaie were detained after receiving a summons to the detention centre. Mrs Bahmani was present during last week's raid but was not detained at the time. She and Mr Rezaie are converts and long standing Christians.

"Christians today often do not even know the central core of their Catholic faith," Pope Benedict XVI observed at his regular public audience on October 17. At his regular weekly audience, the Holy Father announced that he was beginning a new series of catechetical talks, dedicated to the content of the faith, for the Year of Faith. He said that the goal of the Year of Faith and thus of his weekly talks is to renew our enthusiasm at believing in Jesus Christ. The faith, the Pope said, "is not something extraneous and distant from real life, but the very heart thereof." He added that a clear and firm belief in Christian doctrine "does not limit life, but makes it human."

Archbishop Joseph William Tobin was appointed to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 18. Indianapolis is a city located in the Midwestern United States and is the capital of the US state of Indiana. Archbishop Tobin is taking over leadership of the Indianapolis archdiocese from Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, who resigned Sept. 21, 2011 at the age of 73 after numerous health problems. Since Archbishop Buechlein's resignation, auxiliary Bishop Christopher J. Coyne has served as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.

Additional Director General of Police, Vijay Yadav announced the action after meeting a delegation of Catholic lay people yesterday in the Madhya Pradesh State capital, Bhopal. He promised that the probe would be fair and unbiased. The State General Secretary of the Women Council, Sheela Santiago who led the delegation, told ucanews.com today that they went to the police after the local Church hierarchy and the Vatican ignored their demand for justice for the victim, a tribal woman.

Pope Benedict XVI is sending a delegation to Syria to express solidarity with people caught up in the conflict. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the visit to Damascus would be an expression of spiritual closeness to our Christian brothers and sisters. The visit will also be used to encourage all those involved in seeking an agreement respectful of the rights and duties of all with particular attention to the demands of humanitarian law. Christians could not "be mere spectators of a tragedy such as the one that is unfolding in Syria", said Cardinal Bertone.

Caritas India is the official National Organisation of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) for social concern and human development has been engaged in promoting and strengthening of Gram Sabha (Village Council) in Bihar in an effort to confront the inherent weakness in the system and the absence of people's participation. Partners for Resilience (PfR) and ADHIKAR, both Caritas India initiatives in Bihar, is an effort to enable participation and add value to the spirit of Gram Sabha, covering 38 Gram Panchayats, in 8 Districts of Bihar.

The World Council of Churches has congratulated the European Union on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize has been given to the EU in recognition of its contribution to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. Some have criticised the decision to give the prize to the EU in light of the prolonged economic crisis and social unrest affecting the region. However the WCC praised the EU's efforts to bring peace and stability to Europe following two World Wars that killed millions of people.

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada and this is the violent crime capital of Canada The city's new chief of police believes prayer will play a big role in changing that. "I'm a little tired of us…being '[the] murder capital of Canada,'" says Devon Clunis, who was appointed chief of police at the beginning of October. "People consistently say, 'How are you going to solve that?' It's not simply going to be because we're going to go out there and police it away. I truly believe that prayer will be a significant piece of that."

Over 4,000 Christians from the Western suburbs converged at Kandivali in Mumbai, India on Sunday evening to convince local authorities to expedite the release of land, reserved for a burial ground in Kandivli. Shree Sanjay Nirupam, Member of Parliament, Mumbai North joined the crowd and assured them that the issue would be resolved soon. The crowd made repeated requests seeking Nirupam's intervention in getting a meeting with the chief minister to express their grievances.

On October 17, the Roman Catholic Church remembers the early Church Father, Bishop and Martyr Saint Ignatius of Antioch, whose writings attest to the sacramental and hierarchical nature of the Church from its earliest days. Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate his memory on Dec. 20. In a 2007 general audience on St. Ignatius of Antioch, Pope Benedict XVI observed that "no Church Father has expressed the longing for union with Christ and for life in him with the intensity of Ignatius." In his letters, the Pope said, "one feels the freshness of the faith of the generation which had still known the Apostles. In these letters, the ardent love of a saint can also be felt."

Traditional dividing lines between churches and chapels in Wales in United Kingdom could soon be a thing of the past after a major meeting of five denominations today. Representatives of the five Covenanted Churches such as the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, the Presbyterian Church in Wales, the Church in Wales and some Covenanted Baptist congregations are meeting in Aberystwyth to explore radical new ways of working together.

"It will be very difficult but not impossible for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." Before the Angelus, Benedict XVI spoke about Jesus' warning to the young man mentioned in today's Gospel. In front of 30,000 people in St Peter's Square, he also cited the examples of those "who used their wealth in an evangelical way, reaching sainthood. Let us think only about Saint Francis, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and Saint Charles Borromeo."

With a solemn Eucharistic celebration and a day of Adoration, the Mumbai Carmelites will celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of Avila, which falls on 15 October. "A very special day - Sister Gemma, mother prioress of the monastery told AsiaNews - for two reasons: because we are in the Year of Faith, because this year we celebrate the 450th anniversary of the monastery of St. Joseph and the beginning of reform of the Carmelite order. " This anniversary falls on August 24, when Teresa opened the first cloistered convent in 1562.

Five Christian converts Mojtaba Hosseini, Mohammad-Reza Partoei Kourosh, Vahid Hakkani, Homayoun Shokouhi and his wife Fariba Nazemian face the feared Revolutionary Court in the city of Shiraz Monday, October 15. Iran has increased its pressure on Iranian Christian converts during recent years. It has closed churches or prevented Farsi-speaking people from entering churches and uses all means to restrict and suppress "freedom of religion".

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney met with evangelical icon Billy Graham on Thursday at the evangelist's remote mountaintop home in North Carolina. Romney traveled to Graham's residence in Montreat, just outside Asheville, to meet with Graham and his son Franklin Graham, a high-profile pastor in his own right. Evangelist Billy Graham commended Mitt Romney for his values and moral convictions after meeting with the Republican Party (also called Grand Old Party (GOP)) presidential candidate at his North Carolina home on Thursday.

UN agencies on Thursday called on India to take urgent steps to eliminate the widespread practice of child marriage which has lasting negative impacts on the girl child. On the first International Day of the Girl Child, UNICEF and partners urged the decision makers of the country to raise awareness on the negative consequences of child marriage for girls and for society as a whole. United Nations Agencies wrote a letter to Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath in this regard.

A mentally challenged Christian girl Rimsha Masih who was detained in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy against Islam has fled to Norway with family members, a Christian official involved in the operation confirmed. She arrived in the Scandinavian nation with support from the Norwegian Government said Farrukh H. Saif, Executive Director of the Pakistan-based Christian Aid and advocacy group World Vision In Progress (WVIP).

Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, the church meetings he attended as a young priest that brought the Catholic Church into the modern world but whose true meaning is still hotly debated. Benedict celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Square, attended by patriarchs, cardinals, bishops and a dozen elderly churchmen who participated in the council, and later will greet the faithful re-enacting the great procession into St. Peter's that launched the council in 1962.

Most Christians in the United Kingdom would defend people of different faiths, a survey by Christian Research has found. More than eight out of 10 (84%) of the 2,100 committed Christians surveyed said they would defend believers of other faiths from anti-religious sentiment even though they disagreed with their basis of faith. The survey follows the furore over a film mocking Islam that triggered violent protests around the world.

The Synod prays for Syria. The difficulties, but also the hopes of proclaiming the Gospel in the world today is the leitmotif of many interventions today, delivered by representatives of the various continental realities. Cardinal Gracias, in Asian culture, "religion is discipleship to a person more than adherence to a doctrine or obedience to a set of rules." Today's working session in fact opened with a meditation by Bishop Joseph Absi, titular archbishop of the Greek Melkites in Syria, followed by the announcement from Msgr. Nikola Eterovic that the Fathers will pray for peace and reconciliation in the country, at the request of the Syrian bishops.

Let us read Isaiah 21: 6,7. "". . . Lord said to me, "Put a Watchman on the city wall. Let him shout out what he sees. He should look for chariots, drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert."" These are the things, which Lord God spoke to me during the New Year Service at Church. Lord wants me and you to do two things. 1. To put a watchman on the city wall. 2. To make the watchman fully alert. Why to put a watchman? How to put a watchman? What are the roles and responsibilities of a watchman? When will the watchman be fully alert? How should we act to make the watchman fully alert? Who is responsible to put a watchman and make him fully alert?

Catholic groups in Mumbai have withdrawn their protest against the film Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal which they alleged portrayed the clergy and community in bad light. The representatives of The Catholic Secular Forum, Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC), Catholic Residents Organization for Social Services (CROSS), Maharashtra Christian Youth Forum (MCYF) and Catholics for Preservation of Faith (CPF), viewed the Hindi comedy on the first day to assure themselves that the offensive scenes were not being shown.

The blasphemy case registered against young Christian girl Rimsha Masih took another turn today when two men, who had accused a cleric of tampering with evidence to implicate her, withdrew their statements and claimed they were tortured by police to testify against the imam. The two witnesses, who had earlier recorded statements against cleric Khalid Chishti, submitted a fresh statement in the court of a district and sessions judge in Islamabad that said police had forced them to blame Chishti for the incident.

The World Evangelical Alliance has announced the names of a team of experts who will gather in Canada later this year to discuss and produce a report on new biblical translations implemented by Wycliffe Global alliance and SIL – formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics. The panel was selected to review changes that were made by Wycliffe Global Alliance solely in relation to familial terms found within scripture. In August 2011 SIL published "Best Practices for Bible Translation of Divine Familial Terms" to settle uneasiness surrounding the scriptural interpretation of familial names contained within scripture, however, this has created more confusion and less certainty.