SSPX Italy Critical of Pope's Take on European Immigration

Edit: some people have friends who think you can make an orderly society where the rule of law out of any culture.  We suspect pecuniary motives for ignoring the problem, among more diabolical ones. Earlier popes were convinced Islamic immigration to Europe was a bad idea.  What's changed?  Certainly, Muslims are as hostile as they ever have been?


(Rome) The SSPX is sharply critical of the visit by Pope Francis on the island of Lampedusa off the Tunisian coast. The Italian District of the Society speaks of a "distorted progressive simplification" of a complex question, like the mass immigration of Muslims and especially to Europe.

"Since the 9th Century the popes, among them saints, have undertaken to equip fleets and preparations to ward off the (armed, of course) advance of the Muslims in the desire to preserve the Catholic faith where it had not been destroyed by the Mohammedan invasion. Pope Bergoglio wanted with his trip to Lampedusa, to reduce the question to a simple formula: There are the destitute, who are appealing to rich egoists, but they allow them to die at sea, and we rich are all guilty," said the Italian district of SSPX in a comment on his website.

"Even if this message should contain a small truth, so that it might be represented without serious complications as a problem. It is also true that no one should be refused necessary assistance in danger, but at the same time the Masonic plan for the creation of a multi-cultural society can not be underestimated, especially when one is Pope, and therefore is responsible for the defense of the Faith," says the SSPX.

Therefore, "the gestures and words of Pope Francis have been characterized by distorted progressive simplification from the celebration of Mass on a boat with sacred objects made of scrap. Gestures, aimed at rapid popularity for a particular audience and especially in the media," it says in the concluding comments of the Italian District of the SSPX.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
 Image: Mapsfor
Translation: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMGD

Link to katholisches...

Muslims Attack Catholic Seminary: Rector and Seminarians Wounded

Edit: we're straining to recall when Catholics have visited violence on a Muslim seminary.

(Dhaka) Several dozen Islamists attacked a Catholic seminary in northern Bangladesh. The Rector, Father Uzzal and several seminarians were injured. The incident took place yesterday, Thursday, in Bolakipur in the Diocese of Dinajpur.

Previously, Muslims had already attacked the majority Catholic village of Tivipara-Bagja. They plundered the village and robbed the cattle. They also threatened this past May to burn the village down. Women and children of the area have taken flight to nearby Catholic mission stations.

Since the beginning of the month, attacks by Muslims against Christians have increased. On the 5th of June the parish of Tumilia had been the object of an attack in which the Pastor, Abel, together with the religious, were injured and robbed. Link to katholisches...

Comments to Tancred: vekron99@hotmail.com
AMGD

Egypt: More Attacks on Coptic Orthodox Community. Two Churches Set on Fire

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Egyptian Coptic community faces a new escalation of attacks by Islamists. On 17 May, two churches were attacked with Molotov cocktails in the district of Dakhela, west of Alexandria, Egypt, and Menpal in Upper Egypt.

In Alexandria over 20 thousand Muslims attacked the church of St. Mary setting fire to the entrance of the building and shattering windows. A man died of a heart attack in the attack. In response to the violence, hundreds of Copts left their homes to create a human wall around the building. According to witnesses some Islamists armed with pistols and knives fired on the crowd, causing some injuries.

At the origin of the clashes is a dispute between two neighbors. Basem Ramzy Michael, a Coptic Christian, is reported to have behaved inappropriately towards the sister of Alloshy Hamada, a Muslim with a criminal record. In a short time the dispute between the two erupted into a sectarian clash.

A similar incident occurred last May 13, in the village of Menbal, Matay district, north of the province of Minya, where a Muslim mob stormed the church called the Tadros el-Mashreki and assaulted one person inside. The assailants threw stones at the building, looted Christian shops nearby and burned cars. The Coptic minority has been threatened with expulsion from the village. Once again the violence was sparked by a trivial quarrel between two young people. Some young Muslims are reported to have made advances to a group of Coptic girls, as they entered the church. Irritated at having been ignored the group waited for the young Christian girls to leave the Church and threw bags filled with urine at them. The young people were rescued by some Christians peers who have started a heated argument with Muslims. As in other cases, the news spread across the village. In a short time a crowd of Islamists rallied in front of the church, forcing young people to take refuge inside.

Ehab Ramzy, a Coptic Christian, prosecutor in the province and former member of parliament, said Menbal has a Muslim majority, while Manshiet Menbal, 10 kilometers away, has Coptic majority. "The Christians of the two villages - he explains - have nothing to do with the fight that took place in Manshiet Menbal. The young people were attacked just because they are Christian." Two young Muslim men were arrested by police in Menbal. In the coming days there will be a reconciliation meeting between the two communities. "Now - he adds - the security forces are trying to arrest some young Copts. They have become a bargaining chip to seek reconciliation."

AsiaNews sources underline that the attacks against the Coptic community are now a daily occurrence and are being ignored by the police, who because of the climate of chaos, let communities resolve disputes among themselves, although this can result in dead or wounded. The most serious incident took place on April 7 in front of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo, where a group of Islamists attacked funerals of four Christians killed in sectarian clashes that took place on April 5 in the district of Khosous, on the outskirts of the capital, with stones and Molotov cocktails. The assault, which took place before the eyes of the police, left two dead and over 80 injured. A church building caught fire.

Link to Asianews…..

"Hands Off My Church" -- Young Catholics Call for Silent March Against Hostility to Catholics in Avignon

(Avignon) On Monday, the 20th of May a march will take place in the south French city of Avignon against anti-Christianity, The initiative is being planned by a group of young Catholics. They are reacting with it against the increasing violence against priests, religious and ecclesiastical facilities in the city of St. Ruf. The most recent incident was a violent attack of four suspected North African Muslims against a priest of the St. John Society on May 13th.  The four attackers struck the priest unconscious.

The march isn't only directed against the antagonistica and aggressive disposition of parts of the Muslim  inhabitants of the city, rather in general against the anti-Church climate.  In the demonstration, the organizers deplore the scandal "Piss Christ" from April 2011, as a museum in Avignon as an "art work" of a crucifix placed in the urine of the "artist".  Or against the insulting parades through the streets of the "city of the Popes" and the damage of a cemetery of Valréas.  "The anti-Christian hate grows (blasphemous theater pieces, desecrated churches etc...)"  is named in the outcry of the young Catholics.  "We are complaining with emphasis on the lack of a reaction by the authorities and a part of the media, when it comes to the desecration and profanation and we complain with stress on the absence of any reaction against the violent attack on a man of the Church."

The initiators also call out not to tolerate hostility to the Church. "We observe the Cathophobia as an attack against the identity of France of of the French."  The young Catholics are calling upon the "World culture and the homo-lobby".

The young Catholics call upon the  "World Culture and the homo-lobby", in their struggle against homophobia, "to put a stop to our defamation". [Good luck with that.]

"We appeal that the State President and the Interior Minister who are so prompt to condemn the poor situation of Muslims, hostility against Islam and anti-Semitism, to do their duty by Catholics, who have been defamed and injured by anti-Christian attacks.  We are not second class citizens."

With their appeal, the initiators call upon "all people of good will", to "take part in our protest" themselves.  The March begins on Monday, the 20th of May at 2pm at the Place du Palais of the Popes.   "We hope that many French Muslims and Jewish believers will take part in the silent march".   A logo has been created for the demonstration.  A black edged, yellow hand with the slogan:  "Hands off of My Church".  The colors recall on the Identity Movement, a structureless, informal and spontaneous new movement,  which has its origin in France.


Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Una Fides

Link to katholisches...

Religious Priest Attacked in "Arab-Islamic Zone" of Avignon -- Archbishop Denounces Increasing Violence

(Avignon) A priest of the Catholic Community of St. John was assaulted on Monday night on the open road. The attackers, four men of North African origin, presumably Muslims, beat up Father Gregoire,  till two other members of the Communauté de Saint-Jean came to the rescue. Father Gregoire was lying unconscious on the ground. He was taken to hospital, where he stayed overnight for observation. He suffered numerous bruises, bruises and a broken nose.

The incident occurred in the southern French city of Avignon. Father Gregoire was, as is usual for the Community of St. John, on the street in the habit.

Monsignor Jean-Pierre Cattenoz, the Archbishop of Avignon was at a Tuesday morning press conference to publicize the serious aggression. The archbishop called for increased security measures in the district of Saint Ruif. Monsignor Cattenoz complained increasing attacks against Catholic priests and religious Affected were mostly members of the Community of St. John, which are particularly active in the pastoral district.

The neighborhood, named after the saintly founder of the city,  is today the "Arab-Muslim region of Avignon," in which was "Sharia in Action", the Observatoire de l'islamization .

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Observatoire de la Christianophobia

Saudi Arabia: Woman Becomes Christian and Flees -- 6 Years and 300 Lashes For her Collaborator

(Riyadh) A Saudi court has sentenced two men to several years of imprisonment and additional flogging, because they have helped a woman to become  Christian and to escape from Saudi Arabia. The daily newspaper Al-Hayat has reported this . The criminal division of the city of Al Jabar has sentenced the Lebanese Christians to six years in prison and 300 lashes. The second man, a Saudi citizen, was sentenced to two years in prison and 200 lashes. Both were colleagues of the woman and announced to appeal against the judgment.

The case became known in 2012, as the media reported on the illegal departure of the Saudi woman, "the young woman from Al Jabar" is how she became known. Saudi women can not leave the country without the consent of their fathers, husbands or guardians. The young woman is believed to be currently in an unknown location, probably in Sweden.

The father of former Muslim woman from the area of ​​Al-Khobar, which was converted to Christianity, had identified the two men. The charge was that they had convinced the woman to give up Islam and helped her with a fake passport to escape from Saudi Arabia.

In the Wahhabi Kingdom, one of the strictest Islamic countries of the world, the Sharia is Islamic law is applied in a particularly radical form. Muslims who convert to another religion can be sentenced to death. Therefore, the woman had left the country hastily.

According to press reports, the woman has taken refuge in Sweden, where she is protected by a charity. The young woman appeared last year in a video which was posted on YouTube in which she explained to profess Christ and to have accepted Christianity through baptism. 

The father of the woman called  the Saudi government to return his daughter  in November 2012. The Saudi embassy in Sweden has been active in "diplomatic channels".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Asianews

Shots Disturb Christians in Istanbul, Turkey

(Constantinople) At an Armenian church in Istanbul an unidentified man fired seven shots from his rifle on Sunday. Panic broke out among the believers who were gathered in the church for Easter.

The Turkish press reported that an intimidation campaign took place yesterday against Christian communities of Istanbul which concerns Surp Hovhannes about the Armenian Church. As the Armenian Archbishop Aram Atesyan said, the gunman threatened the Christians in the church, "You are too many!" As the Archbishop said, a young Armenian Christian was beaten on Sunday in front of another church in the nearby district Samatya. Other Christian communities of Istanbul were also victims of assault and intolerance in the past days.

In Atesehir a group of 40 people attacked the New Hope Lutheran Church on 27 April. They pelted the church with stones and smashed the stained glass windows. The next day, a group plundered the Greek Orthodox Church of Burgas Ada. All the incidents took place in Istanbul.

According to Archbishop Atesyan “with these attacks they want to stoke fear among the members of our communities” who in Turkey have been repeatedly victims of violence and discrimination in recent years. In 2006 the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro was murdered in Trabzon, in Malatya three Protestants in 2007 and 2010 in Antioch, the Catholic Bishop Padovese.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Christians in the East

Link to Katholisches...

Religious Leaders Demand the Release of Syrian Bishops

Edit: earlier it was reported from many different sources that two Bishops who were kidnapped in Syria were to be released.  It turns out that they are still in captivity, and increasingly, the reports of this tragedy have aroused even the major news media.

[charismanews] Religious leaders from around the world have stepped up their pleas for the safe return of two Syrian bishops who were kidnapped April 22 by armed men as they were driving near the war-torn city of Aleppo.

The kidnappers, who have not been identified, abducted Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Youhanna Ibrahim, both of Aleppo, while they were undertaking a “humanitarian mission” to help Syria’s Christian minority, according to Syrian Christian expatriates in the U.S.

The bishops’ Syrian Orthodox driver was killed in the attack.

Since 2011, more than 70,000 Syrians have died in fighting in the bloody civil war between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebels seeking to oust Assad’s strong-arm regime.

Link to charismanews.com...

Cardinal: Christians Have a Tragic Lack of Knowledge About Islam

(Kah.net) Milan Cardinal Angelo Scola: "In Europe and the USA there is a very significant indifference about Islam. We are, in the truest sense of the word, ignorant. If we ask the average Christian about Islam, we get tragic answers." This is what Milan's Angelo Cardinal Scola said according to Radio Vatican. In a society becoming increasingly more international and in the growing religious diversity, Christians need a fundamental understanding of Islam. Scola sees the metropolitan See of Milan also as "a bridge, it is an opportunity, to meet the East and to understand, upon entering in an inter religious dialog.

Both Syrian Bishops Released by Rebels

(Damaskus) Two Syrian Bishops who were kidnapped yesterday, the Syrian-Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and the Greek Orthodox Boutros Yazigi should be free again and released in Aleppo. This was reported by by the Orthodox Partriarcate to Reuters. Already this afternoon there was a report released by Arabic section of Catholic News Service Zenit. Zenit states that the release had been made possible through negotiation by "the head of the Russian Orthodox Curxh, the Greek Foreign Minister and the UN special envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi".

From Aleppo there has been no report this far. In any case the communication with the embattled city is difficult. The report of the release has been released by another important source, the Oeuvre d’Orient, a Christian relief organization from France, which traditionally has good contacts to Syria's Christians. "According to our Surian sources both bishops were released around 2pm and can be found in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elias of Aleppo", is what the Internet site of Oeuvre, that was "pleased" over the release of the Bishops. "At the same time the relief organization condemned the murder of the Syrian-Orthodox Deacon, who was driving the car for both bishops.“. The perpetrators had shot him immediately at the time of the abduction..

The Oeuvre d’Orient appealed to the international community of nations, to work for the release of two abducted priests who have been held for months at an unknown location.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Missionline

http://www.katholisches.info/2013/04/23/die-beiden-in-syrien-entfuhrten-bischofe-sind-frei/

Islamics Attack Marian Procession on Good Friday

(Melilla) in the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the North African coast, the traditional liturgical celebrations on the night of Good Friday were overshadowed by a clash between Christians and Muslims.  Drunken Muslims insulted the procession from the terrace of a restaurant.  The procession carried through the streets a statue of the Virgin Mary, who is particularly revered in Melilla in the miraculous image of the Virgin of Solitude.

Shortly after the statue of the Virgen de la Soledad was carried  out of the Sacred Heart Church in procession, there were  obscene insults on the Mother of God by drunken Muslims from the roadside. When they were asked by the Christians to stop, the Muslims reacted violently, throwing bottles, plates, chairs and tables on the Catholic procession participants and with palpable results. It broke panic among the faithful.  As a result, there was a fierce fight until the police arrived. Four Muslims were arrested and four injured who had to be patched up.

The procession was to be continued after the interruption. The incident was captured on video.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Commission of Melilla distanced itself from the provocateurs.

Muslim

Edit: it was confirmed at the Daily Mail.

 H/t: Roman Catholic Imperialist.

Libyan Islamists Prey on Christians -- Christians Graves are Desecrated

Libya (Benghazi) Islamists do continue to hunt for Christians working in the North African country. They are summarily accused of  proselytism. The recent incident takes place in the Mediterranean city of Benghazi, the capital of Cyrenaica. In the second largest city of Libya 48 Egyptian Christians were arrested, as Asianews reported. These are Orthodox Copts, who were reported by Libyan Islamists. The Christians, merchants and traders who visited the market of Benghazi, are alleged to have conducted religious images and representations of themselves. A  video seized from the police  shows how Christians are being held in a small room of Salafists. They appear physically exhausted. Many wounds and abrasions are visible. The Islamists have shaved all Christians bald.

The incident has caused displeasure among the inhabitants of Benghazi. Only in October, it had risen against the Salafi militias accused of perpetrating the attack on the American consulate, where the U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed.

The authorities reported on Thursday that Egyptian Christians had not been arrested for religious reasons, but for violation of immigration laws. Only in mid-February, four Christians were arrested, an Egyptian, a South African, a Swede and a South Korean with U.S. citizenship. They are accused of having spread Bibles and other Christian materials.

The spread of Islamic extremism is affecting the Catholic orders, which have been active in part for a long time on the territory of modern Libya. They have built hospitals and work with elderly people. Only in January the Islamists have succeeded in forcing the Franciscan Sisters of the Child Jesus of Barce and the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Beida, to leave the country. In October 2012, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Spoleto were forced to leave Libya due to the constant threats and attacks by the Islamists, as Father Dominique Rézeau reported.

"Not a day goes by without Christian graves being desecrated and destroyed," lamented Bruno Daimasso to the magazine Tempi, the gardener of the Italian cemetery in Tripoli. "The remains of the Christians are torn from their graves and scattered in the cemetery," as Jeune Afriquereported. "The Libyan authorities have arrived, took photos and did nothing," said Daimasso.

According to Dominique Rézeau there are officially some 200,000 Christians who lived in Libya before the fall of Gaddafi, and three percent of the population, since the so-called Arab Spring, "only a few are thousand left." As the Vicar Apostolic Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli confirmed, the churches in the Kyreinaika are indeed still open, the situation for Christians is however "very critical”.

Link to Katholisches...

Syria: Christian Dragged From Bus and Shot, Because he Wore a Cross

(Damascus) A Syrian Christian of the Armenian Church was put to death by Islamists on the road to Aleppo. As the news agency Fides reported while Christians were traveling on a bus towards Aleppo,  the bus was stopped by armed Islamists, who had set up a roadblock. The Islamists were scanning the bus, to relieve the passengers relieved  of possessions and looking for potential victims of kidnappings for ransom.  On the 9th of February two priests were  kidnapped in this way. The Armenian Catholic priest Michel Kayyal and the Greek Orthodox priest Maher Mahfouz. Both are still in the hands of Islamist gangs.

As the Islamists in the bus investigated the travelers, they also encountered a Syrian Christians Yohannes an  Armenian, who wore a cross on a necklace. They dragged him out of the bus and shot him at close range. For safety reasons,  as Fides reports, they omitted the messenger service on the publication of his full name in order to protect the family of the victim. As the Armenian Church announced, he is a "martyr", because the Christian was killed in "odium fidei", out of hatred for the Christian faith.

Just recently, a group of Christians to reach Beirut to escape the perilous situation in Syria. Their bus was hit by a rocket in flight. Two Christians, Boutros and his 22 year old fiancée Naraya, who wanted to get married soon, were killed. Islamists then stole everything they could steal in this bus brutally brought to a halt.

The Christian churches in Syria have decided not to pay a ransom for kidnapped Christians. A decision that was made after much consideration, as Fides reported, because Christians do not want to be prisoners of a lucrative Islamist kidnapping industry. If they were to pay, it would just such but inflame.

Instead, call the churches to the international community to take action against the inhumane practice of kidnapping in Syria. The Christians of Syria urge all Christians to support through prayer and spiritual sacrifices. Fides reported that the church tours in Syria, it is agreed that the rescue of the hostages, including the two priests, is to lead a spiritual battle and not as fundraising to collect money  for ransom payments.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Faith

Link to katholisches...

Islam Hour in Kindergarten: Coming to you Soon!

Edit: this liveleak video from 2011 shows a German Kindergarten visited by a local Imam.  The SSPX German District website has introduced the story again.  It's interesting to see that some of the children refuse to participate.  It is still topical:

This published video shows how a German Kindergarten (!) is made into an advertisement for Islam.

A women with a head covering gives the children a liquid with which they can rub and probably purify themselves, in order to prepare for Muslim prayers.

A Muslim, apparently an Imam, shows the children the Koran and explains to them how Muslims pray and how Turkish children play.



The muslim who praises the Koran to the German children, is clearly Ömer Akbulut, who is the spokesman for the Islamic community engaged in the building of a mosque with a minarett in Wertheim.  It is also apparent that this leaked video is of a Kindergarten in the vicinity of Wertheim.

pius.info recommends to readers:  If you have children in Kindergarten, then suggest to the teacher a visit from a conservative, Catholic priest.  Father will show the children how to make the sign of the cross, how one gets holy water and who the Mother of God is.

If the teacher answers, that such is not possible in a ideologically neutral state like Germany, then show her the photo above.

Link to pius.info...

Original source...

Bonn: Man Refuses Islam, so They Cut His Tongue

Bonn (kath.net)  The Criminal Police of Bonn are searching for two suspected Islamists, who have cut the tongue of a young Indian. According to statements of Indian students two men threatened him on Christmas Eve,  that they would cut out his tongue if he didn't convert to Islam.  The student didn't react to this, whereupon the two men struck him down and wounded him, according to police reports, on the tongue.  The "Welt" reported this.  The reports of the 24 year old guest student have been rated by police as believable, said police spokesman Harry Kolbe, because of the physical description of the and the course of the crime, police are not ruling out that there is a "political back ground" and that the perpetrators come "from an islamic spectrum".  The victim in the mean time has been released from the hospital, but stands because of his police questioning "still very strongly under the influence of the crime".

Bonn is considered, as reported by "Welt", as one of the main cities of the Islamist scene, since is happened  just two and a half weeks since the bomb attack on Bonn's main train station was just thwarted, the Attorney General suspects "connections in radical-islamic circles".

Link to kath.net...

"Convert to Islam or Die" -- Iraqi Grand Ayatollah Unleashes Fatwa Against Christians

(Bagdad) On the same day in which the Syrian-Catholic Cathedral was solemnly re-consecrated, the Grand Ayatollah issued a Fatwa against the Christians of Iraq.  The Christians are expected to convert to Islam or are liable to be killed.  The Catholic Cathedral was the scene of a bloody attack on 31 October, 2010.  An Al-Qaeda unit attacked the church, as the Christians there were celebrating Holy Mass. 58 Catholics lost their lives in the attack, among whom were two priests.

The Shi'ite Iraqi Grand Ayatollah Sayid Ahmad al Hassani al Baghdadi announced his call to murder Christians with the Egyptian television broadcaster Al Baghdadia.  Al Baghdadi, which belongs to one of the most radical members of the Islamic Jihad, is calling Christians as polytheists and friends of Zionists.  Al Baghdadi's call to the Christian minority of Iraq reads:  "Convert to Islam or Die".  The women and girls of the Christians "can be legally considered to be wives of Muslims", said the Grand Ayatollah.  Al Baghdadi,  who was born in Nadjaff in Iraq, is one of the "holy cities" of Shi'ite Islam, lives today in Syria and there supports the armed struggle of Islamists.

The Catholics of Bagdad regard the Fatwa as "extremely troubling".  Whatever effect they will have, they should not be underestimated.  Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, of the Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches,  undertook the re-consecration of the Cathedral.  In his sermon he spoke of the murdered Christians in 2010, that the tears and the blood of martyrs are seedlings, which will bring forth new fruit.  Cardinal Sandri held a five day visit to Iraq, in order to strengthen the Christians there during the year of Faith.

Text: Asianews/Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Asianews

Neo-Cardinal Patriach Al Rahi Celebrates the Maronite Rite in the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Rome

(Vatican)  The 77th Patriarch of the Maronite Church united with Rome, Mar Bechara Boutros Cardinal Al Rayhi, celebrated a Pontifical High Mass on 26th of November in St. Peter's Cathedral after his elevation to Cardinal.  It was a Liturgy of Thanksgiving in the Maronite Rite fur the dignity which was received two days before, which was imparted by Pope Benedict XVI.  The Cardinal spoke during his sermon not only about his "responsibility" for the 1.6 million Maronites in Lebanon, but also for the 13 million Christians in the Arabic world of the Near East.  The Maronite Patriarch is currently the only representative of the Near East in the College of Cardinals.  Cardinal Al Rahi stressed his resolve to continue the "Moslem-Christian dialog in the Near East".

"Responsibility for the 13 Million Christians in the Arab World"

Three of the six newly made Cardinals on the 24th of November came from lands with significant Moslem populations.  "We Christians of the Near East have an unbroken tradition, which goes directly back to Our Lord Jesus Christ.  A rich fullness, which is our contribution to the world Church.  We are also rich in a mutual exchange of experience in the coexistence with Moslems", said the Patriarch.

Six of the NeoCardinals Come from Lands With Significant Muslim Populations

Cardinal Al Rahi sees the desire of the Pope in his Cardinal choices, "to give new impetus to the New Evangelization in the Near East".  The Near East is, as Benedict XVI in his Lebanon trip stressed, "A land chosen by God, because it is on this land that the revealed His saving Mystery".  That is a priceless treasure, which the Christians of the Near East have preserved, but also a mission, to make this treasure living and visible and to share with others.

The Near East has seen the cross, but also the resurrection, Pentecost and the persistence of the Church, said the Cardinal.  Pope Benedict XVI. has said that this is should be "a land of peacee, not a land of wars and conflicts".

The Near East "A Land of Peace, not of War"

Around 1,500 Maronites and other Arab Christians had found a place around the Maornite Patriarch and Cardinal to celebrate Holy Mass in the St. Peter's Cathedral.

Link to Katholisches...

Christmas Cancelled in Brussels

Here's a little something from Friends of Hungary.

THE END OF CHRISTIANITY IN BRUSSELS - NO CHRISTMAS THIS YEARAccording to Brussels city government's representative Bianca Debaets Brussels will not place a Christmas tree on its historical Grand Place square, because the tree, as a symbol of Christianity, could harm the feelings of people of other faiths. The electronic timber that has been granted and already placed is called "winter tree". The "Christmas market" thus receives a new name, from which the word "Christmas" is missing. (The muslim community reached 25% of Brussel's total population. According to most analysts the size and influence of the muslim community in Belgium was a key factor in making the decision.) 

Converted Muslims Are Secretly Baptized in Vienna -- Msgr Franz Schlegl on World Prayer Day for Persecuted Christians

(Vienna) On the 4th of November 2012 Msgr. Mag. Franz Schlegl preached for persecuted Christians.  Msgr. Schlegl is a priest of the Roman Rite and an Archpriest of the Byzantine Rite (Ukrainian Communion) of the Archdiocese of Vienna.

At the outset Dr. Elmar Kuhn, the General Secretary of Christian Solidarity International Austria spoke of a "dramatic scale of Christian persecution".  Kuhn reported the current case of a Pakistani Christian who had been given a prison sentence for "ridicule" involving  "blasphemy against the Prophet".  Although he had completed his sentence, the Muslim prison director refused to let him free, because he had continued to hold fast to his belief in Christ.

Msgr. Schlegl spoke in his sermon about the Christian persecution, of which the media does not report. "Whichever picture of human rights, whichever picture of democracy our responsible journalists of our media",   when there are attacks and violence to Christians "are hardly talked about in the media".   Every five to ten minutes somewhere in the world a Christian is killed because of his faith.  In 50 nations of the world there are more than 100 million Christians persecuted for their faith, mishandled, discriminated,  and threatened with death.  Nine of ten of those persecuted for their beliefs are Christians.  But that does not merit a line of the news value and also in the newspapers not a line."  With the exception of North Korea, he People's Republic of China and some of the other communistically inclined states, "the persecution of Christians takes place primarily in Islamic countries.  The 'Arab Spring' has become a Christian crucifixion." Christians are valued in states like Somalia and Nigeria "as vermin, that must be destroyed, as trash that must be taken out".

Msgr Schlegl explained that Muslims, who have converted to the Catholic Faith, in agreement with Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn do not have to participate in the catechumen celebration, "very simply, because it is dangerous.  Then their preparation for baptism and the baptism inclusively held in secret so that they don't have to fear for their lives."

"That is happening to us today that Christians, in following the Lord are ready to die as martyrs.  That is the biggest difference.  The Muslims also say, their fighters are martyrs.  As a Christian I am prepared to die for my Christian faith, but I am never prepared to murder for my Faith.  And those who call themselves martyrs, because they set off an automobile in the air and rip 100 or 50 people to death: what does that have to do with martyrdom.  That is naked violence."

Link to katholisches...

Sorry, his sermon is only in German.