- Nepal Christians demand designated burial grounds
- Wealthy California town appalled, outraged at torching of cross
- Obama visits tomb of El Salvador prelate who fought for human rights
- Apple removes another Christian app amid pressure from gay activists
| Nepal Christians demand designated burial grounds Posted: 25 Mar 2011 04:01 PM PDT
Some 36 Nepalese Christians leaders held a sit-in in Kathmandu to demand burial grounds for their dead while in other parts of the city protest rallies were held with numbers ranging from hundreds to thousands. C.B. Gahatraj, one of the leaders at the sit-in, told All Headline News that Christians are determined and will not step back in their fight to have designated Christian burial grounds. Gahatraj told All Headline News, “Until and unless we are assured for a designated land for the burial ground, we are not going to call back our protest.” The group had already met with Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari and requested immediate use of the temple grounds for burials. Gahatraj told All Headline News, “We will only hold talks with Prime Minister now.” Empty coffin Elsewhere in Kathmandu, Christians by the thousands rallied along the streets of the city carrying an empty coffin and calling on the government of this majority Hindu nation to keep its promise and assign separate Christian burial grounds, All Headline News said. The demonstrators waved banners saying, “Give us our rights, give us burial grounds,” the BBC News reported, while others simply asked outright, “Where is our burial ground?” Pastor Sundar Thapa, leader of the protesters, said they are demanding burial space in all of the country’s 75 districts, “[s]o that we can bury our dead according to Christian practices,” according to BBC News. Thapa told BBC News, “If the government listens to our demands, we will [continue] peacefully living in this country and helping this country to develop. But if it doesn’t listen, then we will have to come on to the streets in coming days.” Other Christians said they will parade their dead at the steps of parliament if need be. In the past Christians had been using the Hindu Pashupatinath Temple grounds in Kathmandu for decades. However a ban was imposed on this practice last month because the grounds lie alongside the revered Hindu temple, the AP reported. Nepal’s Supreme Court temporarily lifted the ban last week ordering the Pashupati Area Development Trust to allow non-Hindus to bury their dead on the grounds of one of the most sacred shrines of its faith, All Headline News said, but this has failed to appease tensions. There has long been a dearth of places for Christian burials, while Hindu burial places predominate, even as most of the Hindu dead are cremated according to their tradition, BBC News said. Temple authorities say there is no room for new graves on their sites, according to the AP. A statement issued by Christian protestors said, “Preventing us from the burial ground violates the basic tenet of human rights as well as signifies the mockery of democracy and secularism,” according to All Headline News Protestors are also enraged that their repeated appeals are ignored by the government, and none of the political parties have expressed support. They also said the National Human Rights Commission has failed to do enough, All Headline News said. Amid all this, Christian leaders told BBC News that they are demanding formal government recognition of their status. Growing faith Christianity is a growing faith in Nepal, particularly among low-caste Hindus who find refuge in it and hope for a better life that transcends the Hindu caste system, the BBC reported. Nepal has a population of 27 million, mostly Hindus. Christians comprise some 1.5 percent of the total according to BBC News. Others peg their numbers at 0.5 percent, totaling two million, All Headline News said. Share this:      |
| Wealthy California town appalled, outraged at torching of cross Posted: 25 Mar 2011 04:01 PM PDT
Residents of a wealthy, mainly white California community are shocked and outraged at the recent torching of an 11-foot cross in a lot next to the home of a black family. In Arroyo Grande, a 17,000 population community near San Luis Obispo, people are angry at what is the first hate crime to be recorded in the area since 2002, CBS News said. Hate crimes A letter signed by 31 clergy members to the San Luis Obispo Tribune said, “Burning crosses, swastikas on synagogue walls, hateful words on mosque doors are not pranks. They are hate crimes meant to frighten and intimidate,” CBS News reported. Parishioners from the church plan to send prayer blankets to the mother and daughter that lived in the house where the incident occurred, according to CBS News. In a city council meeting held last Tuesday Dean Limbo, a churchgoer said, “We were just in total shock that someone would do something with what is to most people a symbol of peace and love,” CBS News reported. Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt, president of the NAACP Santa Maria/Lompoc Branch said the group is helping the family and said, “I know many people in the community are disturbed that it happened. But it’s a reality that it did happen. We need to be able to address that and to deal with it,” The Tribune reported. Carolyn Hinson of Arroyo Grande High School and a member of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance said, “I am deeply disgusted by what has occurred. I would like you [the city council] to somehow find a way to make it so these hate crimes can never occur in the county, in the state … so we can make it a loving, peaceful place to live,” according to The Tribune Extra patrols Since the crime occurred last Friday, police have set up extra patrols in the neighborhood and there is a $3,500 reward for information leading to the perpetrators of the crime, CBS News said. Church leaders have been asked to mention the family during prayers, The Washington Post said. Police chief Steve Annibali told the city council a coalition of law enforcement groups are working together including the California Department of Justice, the FBI, the county District Attorney’s Office and the county Sheriff’s Department, The Tribune said. Annibali told the council, “The coverage of the event may have suggested that the department is not taking it seriously. We have always pursued this as an arson and hate crime,” according to The Tribune Annibali also said his department has assigned an arson investigator to the case and evidence collected from the crime scene will be examined in an independent crime laboratory, The Tribune reported. Cross stolen from church garden The cross that was burned had been stolen weeks before from Saint John’s Lutheran Church garden. Early Friday morning, the cross was wedged on the ground outside the window where a 19-year-old woman slept, on a lot behind the family home, The Tribune said. It was then set ablaze. The teen was awakened by a banging noise and looked outside her window. When she saw the cross in flames she awoke her mom and then called 911, according to The Tribune. At 12:30 a.m. firefighters responded and put out the fire with a garden hose. Police gathered remnants of the cross and other pieces of evidence from the crime scene, The Washington Post said. Ku Klux Klan extinct The nationwide number of cross burnings, which are commonly linked to the Ku Klux Klan, has dropped from 50 annually a decade ago to 30 today, Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Alabama told The Tribune. The Ku Klux Klan started after the Civil War and revived in 1915 with the controversial film, “Birth of a Nation.” Potok told The Tribune, “There is no Klan now,” although there is an assortment of “squabbling organizations.” Sick joke? Police officials said the Arroyo Grande incident shows no evidence so far that any organized racist group was complicit in the crime, CBS News reported. Potok told The Tribune that it may even have been a twisted act done by a group of teenagers or someone ignorant, who perversely thought it might be funny. Potok told the Tribune that either way, it does not make the act acceptable. Share this: |
| Obama visits tomb of El Salvador prelate who fought for human rights Posted: 25 Mar 2011 04:01 PM PDT
President Barack Obama ended his recent Latin American trip with a visit to the tomb of a Roman Catholic Archbishop from El Salvador who was a staunch human rights defender during that nation’s civil war. Obama, along with President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador and Archbishop Escobar Alas of San Salvador went to the Metropolitan Cathedral to light a candle for slain Archbishop Oscar Romero, The Washington Post reported. In a statement that Alas released beforehand, he said the visit by Obama was a “global event” that would enhance the reputation of the slain rights defender worldwide, according to Zenit. Bowed, subdued After Obama lit a candle he bowed his head and closed his eyes as he knelt beside Romero’s sepulcher. He then turned back and appeared to be subdued, according to Catholic Culture. The kneeler that was placed beside the crypt had been used in 1983 by Pope John Paul II when he, too, visited the tomb of Romero at the cathedral, The Washington Post said. Obama’s visit lasted for 24 minutes, during which Funes gave Obama a keepsake that was reminiscent of Romero’s life and service, according to The Washington Post. Afterwards Obama said that he “was honored to visit the cathedral [...] and pay my respects to Archbishop Romero, who remains an inspiration to people all around the world,” according to Zenit. The visit concluded Obama’s Latin America tour which included Brazil, Chile and two days in El Salvador. Issues discussed included immigration, drug-related violence and economic development, according to Zenit. Fighter for the poor Romero was a fighter for the poor who strongly criticized repression committed by the Salvadoran army which then had the backing of the U.S. during the Central American nation’s civil war, which ran for 12 years and left some 75,000 dead, the AP said. Romero was shot dead on March 24, 1980, while saying mass in a hospital chapel, The Washington Post said. An investigation into his death conducted by the U.N. concluded that it was done under the order of Roberto d’Aubuisson, a right-wing leader during the civil war who was linked to the infamous 1980s “death squads,” Catholic Culture said. Beatification Alas said Obama’s visit will not influence the beatification of Romero which is currently underway in the Vatican. In 2005 the Vatican determined that Romero’s teachings as shown in his writings had no error, Zenit said. In 2008 his beatification process was stalled when the prelate’s image was used politically and Romero was projected as a source of disunity in the country, Zenit reported. But that same year, Benedict XVI told the Salvadoran envoy to the Vatican that Romero is viewed as a pastor “full of love for God,” who grounded the Gospel in El Salvador, “bringing abundant fruits of Christian life and holiness,” according to Zenit. Recognition of pastor Obama’s visit was applauded by El Salvador Congresswoman Lorena Pena, a former guerilla fighter turned politician who said, “It’s a recognition of our pastor who was killed for fighting for justice, for democracy and human rights,” The AP reported. Roberto White, director of the Center for International Policy said Obama’s visit “is like a U.S. stamp of approval on the positive influence Romero’s life and death have had on Latin America and the world,” according to the AP. Share this: |
| Apple removes another Christian app amid pressure from gay activists Posted: 25 Mar 2011 04:01 PM PDT
For the second time within a few months, Apple changed its mind about a popular Christian app and deleted it from its iPhone app store because of complaints from the gay activist community—a decision viewed by critics as censorship and an infringement on the right to free speech. Apple pulled the plug on an Exodus International iPhone app that talked about how one could be free of homosexuality by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, OneNewsNow said. When Apple first approved the app, it received a 4+ rating, meaning the app did not have anything objectionable in its material. However, change.org, a gay activist group launched an online petition two weeks into its listing and gathered 150,000 signatures protesting the app, OneNewsNow reported. Change.org said in its petition that the Exodus International app contains a message that is “bigoted” and “hateful.” As a result, Apple removed the app, OneNewsNow said. Critics say Apple’s decision is discriminatory and intolerant, and they question why Apple approved the listing in the first place and kept it in its store for two weeks before caving in to pressure, Baptist Press said. Baptist Press said those who disagree with the decision made by Apple, (one of the country’s most popular and powerful companies), fear that this could impact society in a way that stretches beyond the borders of simply the realm of iPhone owners. Scare tactics Gay activists argued that Exodus makes use of “scare tactics, misinformation, stereotypes, and distortions of LGBT life to recruit clients,” according to OneNewsNow. However, the app only contains historic Christian doctrine at its core, Baptist Press said, noting that Exodus, often referred to as an “ex-gay” ministry, is the largest Christian organization that focuses its ministry on reaching out to the gay community. The Baptist Press also noted the irony that Apple has hundreds of apps for the gay community that range from sex tips to dating matches. In comparison, the Exodus app, which was free, contained announcements about events and news related to the ministry. Randy Thomas, executive vice president of Exodus told Baptist Press, “It’s alarming where this is headed in our culture…Activists were calling for Oprah to fire Lisa Ling simply for interviewing us [for a segment on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN channel].” Thomas told Baptist Press, “It seems like if you’re a Christian in this culture and you have a moral view that isn’t in line with pro-gay ideology, they’re seeking to silence you, and silence anybody who would be even willing to even talk to you. That is a very alarming trend that seems to only be growing.” Thomas told OneNewsNow, “I think Apple has really done themselves a disservice in not representing the true diversity of opinion concerning homosexuality and Christianity.” Four months before, Apple removed an app from The Manhattan Declaration that supported religious freedom, traditional marriage and spoke out against abortion. The decision by Apple to remove it also came after pressure was exerted from the gay activist community, OneNewsNow said. Forbes Magazine, in discussing the incident commented, “In other words, something is objectionable if enough people object to it. If that’s going to be the standard, Apple is going to be seeing a lot more petitions.” Jeff Bercovici wrote in Forbes that the gay activist community’s victory may be fundamentally pyrrhic, saying, “What will Apple say the day it gets a petition with 140,001 signatures calling for banning…an app popular with gay men looking for a quick hit of romance?” Bercovici wrote in Forbes that in the past gay rights activists protested censorship when it involved material that they approved of. Bercovici commented, “Their support for it now is bafflingly shortsighted.” Share this: |
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