Police face criticism for allegedly failing to stop Wednesday's mob attack on an African student in Bangalore. A young Tanzanian woman was pulled from her car, stripped, beaten, paraded naked and sexually assaulted by young Indian men. Her car was set afire and a local policeman took no action. A short time before this outrageous attack a drunk Sudanese student ran over and killed an Indian woman on the same street. He too was pulled from his car and beaten; his car was set afire. Both were horrendous incidents on the same street just minutes apart. Both incidents fed the prejudices bubbling just below the surface of young Indian males. Pray for more to be done to prevent racial discrimination and for the mob culture emerging to be eradicated.
The pontiff showed solidarity with migrants in a rebuttal to the GOP (Grand Old Party – Republican) front-runner. Without naming him, Pope Francis rebuked Donald Trump and GOP immigration hardliners during a visit to the US/Mexico border. He led Mass in a field just a few hundred feet away from the United States. He laid flowers at a nearby memorial honouring migrants who had died trying to cross the border. He said, ‘We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis which in recent years has meant migration for thousands by train, highway or foot, crossing hundreds of kilometres through mountains, deserts and other inhospitable zones. The human tragedy that forces migration is a global phenomenon. They are expelled by poverty, violence, drug trafficking and criminal organisations. No more death! No more exploitation! There is still time to change, there is still a way out and a chance, time to implore the mercy of God.’
An estimated 50 people were killed in missile attacks on at least four hospitals and a school in rebel-held northern Syria on Monday. Russia has been accused of being responsible for the attacks. The UN said intentionally directing attacks at hospitals constitutes a war crime. In an article by President Putin’s press secretary Mr Peskov in a Russian newspaper, the Kremlin said, ‘accusations against the Russian Federation in the video-conferencing application of air strikes on hospitals in Syria were unacceptable. We categorically allot as deplorable those who make such statements and are unable to somehow prove their allegations’. Asked by journalists to comment on the information about the hospital bombardment in Syria’s Idlib province, as well as accusations of Russian air and space forces in this incident, Peskov called for people to go back to the source and noted that Syria's Ambassador to Russia, Riyad Haddad said that the hospital in Idlib province was destroyed by the Americans, not by the Russian for
Israel: Turning Jerusalem into a Christian Mecca
19 Feb 2016
Christian pilgrimages to Jerusalem have increased greatly within the last decade as Christians trace the footsteps of Jesus, meditate and pray for their families and churches. It is a potential life-transforming event. There is also a growing global phenomenon of governments financing pilgrimages to Jerusalem, as a place of intercession, to pray for their national troubles. Ghana’s government faced criticism for attempting to sponsor Pentecostal pastors for such a trip to ‘intercede for the nation’s many socio-economic difficulties. Over the years, various Christian and Church organisations have asked governments to sponsor pilgrimages, stating, ‘Christians are entitled to state sponsorship for pilgrimages to Israel just as Muslims receive sponsorship to go to Mecca.’ Is Jerusalem becoming ‘Meccanised’? Post-resurrection history of Christianity indicates no geographical centre as the focus of Christian encounters with God. ‘When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen’. (Mat.6:6)
Global prayer for stability
19 Feb 2016
Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are no longer viable nation-states. A number of nations are supporting fighters who have ruthlessly taken many innocent lives. Refugees are streaming into Western nations, with all the resulting challenges and dangers. IS is spreading and instigating intolerable situations. On Wednesday 28 people died and 61 were wounded by a car bomb in Ankara. Egypt has ordered the closure of the country's last remaining centre for the treatment of torture victims amid a surge in allegations of torture by Egyptian officials. North Korea is sabre-rattling while the poor starve. So many nations need to be soaked in prayer, all of them holding a real sense of tension and danger if one party makes the wrong decision. Pray for the leaders of these nations to be led by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. May they make decisions that God can bless.
Three wards at Leicester Royal Infirmary have closed after 16 cancer patients were diagnosed with swine flu. The patients have been isolated to avoid an outbreak. Another three people with flu are being treated at the city's Glenfield Hospital but these cases have not yet been confirmed as swine flu. Anyone suffering from cold and flu symptoms should avoid the hospitals. It is a normal winter, swine flu is the normal flu and the number of cases is not that high across the East Midlands. However, when it gets into a clinical setting where people are very vulnerable then this is a difficult situation to manage. Doctors say, ‘Everything is being done and it is under control.’
A sex abuse survivor accused the Church of England of attempts to prevent him from sharing his story. Graham Sawyer was abused by Bishop Peter Ball in 1970 and 1980. In a General Synod fringe meeting Sawyer said he experienced harassment, vilification and intimidation when trying to speak about his experiences. Bishop Ball was jailed last December for misconduct in public office and indecent assault. He was cautioned in 1993 for gross indecency against a minor but was allowed to work in churches until 2010. Tuesday's ‘fringe meeting’ was organised by the Church Reform Group, of which Sawyer is the chair, and the National Council of Hindu Temples. The director of communications for the Church of England was not at the meeting and therefore unable to respond to the accusations. The Archbishop of Canterbury has promised that an independent inquiry into child abuse will be launched in the coming weeks.
Serving migrants in our midst
19 Feb 2016
UK cities are taking in refugees, Birmingham has taken 50, but the need is enormous. Birmingham’s refugees are mostly Eritreans, Afghans, Sudanese and Iranians. Many need housing, all need friendship and support. People wanting to help don’t know how to get involved. Nabil came from Tunisia, heavily pregnant and with an 18-month-old daughter, no money and nowhere to stay, her husband had left her. She was desperate. An acquaintance put Nabil in touch with an Interserve partner who organised help and support - toys for the toddler, a solicitor appointment and a food parcel. Nabil broke down in tears. ‘No one has ever shown me love like this before, you are the sunshine in my darkness.’ The months ahead are likely to see unprecedented numbers of refugees arriving in our towns and cities. How we as a nation respond to the situation may decide the future of these desperate people. Pray for organisations like Interserve who are serving migrants in our midst.