The United Kingdom is beset by a post-colonial guilt that makes it likely to ignore pleas for help from Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith, the Bishop of Truro has said. The Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen believes that while people of many faiths are persecuted, Christians are more likely than others to be victims. Pew Center statistics gathered … [Read more...] about Guilt and Persecution
murder
‘Therefore Choose Life’
The mass murder of 11 people at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh has prompted several bishops to reflect on anti-Semitism, evil, and violence and to call for a vigorous Christian response. Excerpts follow. The Rt. Rev. Dorsey W.M. McConnell Bishop of Pittsburgh The newscasts, sickeningly, are referring again and again to this horror as a “tragedy.” It is no such … [Read more...] about ‘Therefore Choose Life’
Church Worker Shot to Death
Joseph Kiri, national youth coordinator for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, has died after being shot while traveling to Yei. Thousands of young people gathered at Kiri’s home Sept. 27 to pay their respects for the youth worker and evangelist. Kiri was killed just days after Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, Primate of South Sudan, said a peace deal should become peace on … [Read more...] about Church Worker Shot to Death
Bishop Calls for Prayer
The Rt. Rev. Morris K. Thompson, Jr., Bishop of Louisiana, called for prayers after shootings near Washington, D.C., on June 14 that left five people wounded. Police said that John Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois, attacked a group of Congress members who were practicing for a charity baseball game. The rifle attack left the U.S. House of Representatives’ majority whip, … [Read more...] about Bishop Calls for Prayer
Honor the Dead of Minya
The Rev. Frederick Schmidt, Jr., writes about the slaughter of at least 20 Coptic Christians early today in Minya, Egypt: [W]e won’t be riveted to stories from Minya for days on end the way in which we have followed the news from Manchester. … [T]he moral values that we hold dear should leave us ever restless and discontent with human definitions of compassion, mercy, and … [Read more...] about Honor the Dead of Minya
Pa. Bishop Asks for Discernment
Diocese of Pennsylvania From the Diocese of Pennsylvania Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 My brothers and sisters in Christ, Last week, I once again turned on the television and learned a child of God was shot and killed on the streets of Philadelphia. It seems that every morning, the same … [Read more...] about Pa. Bishop Asks for Discernment
‘Evil Attacks the Weakest’
The Archbishop of Canterbury responded on Twitter and with presidents of Churches Together in England to the murder of the Rev. Jacques Hamel at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in France. The priest, 85, was killed July 26 by two men wielding knives during morning Mass. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility. “Evil attacks the weakest, denies truth & love, is defeated … [Read more...] about ‘Evil Attacks the Weakest’
‘Love Is Stronger than Death’
A makeshift memorial on the ground near the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. • REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Gregory O. Brewer, Bishop of Central Florida, reflects on the mass murders in Orlando: I had to work to take it in. My natural reaction was to keep the horror of this event at a distance — keeping my heart safe from grief and outrage. But slowly, and as an … [Read more...] about ‘Love Is Stronger than Death’