02/24/2015EGYPT - ISLAM What Tayeb and Sisi said is big step towards a revolution in Islam by Samir Khalil Samir The grand imam of Al-Azhar slammed literalist interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as fundamentalists and Islamic terrorists do. He supports the urgent need for Islam's reform, especially in terms of teaching lay people and clerics. He also calls for an end to mutual excommunication (takfir) between Sunnis and Shias. Egyptian President al-Sisi chose to fight the Islamic state group after it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, whom he called "Egyptian citizens" with full rights. Rome (AsiaNews) - What Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Cairo's
al-Azhar University, said at a conference in Makkah three days ago is one of
the most important things that could have happened in the Muslim world. In his speeches,
he spoke of...
02/23/2015SAUDI ARABIA - ISLAM For head of Al-Azhar, religious education reform is needed to stop Islamic extremism For Ahmed al-Tayeb, it is urgent to come up with new educational programmes to avoid "corrupt interpretations" of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Islamic terrorism undermines the unity of the Muslim world. He blames Mideast tensions on a "new global colonialism allied to world Zionism". a speech by the Saudi king is read at the conference.
02/22/2015VATICAN Pope gifts "Guard your heart" booklet as an aid to conversion in Lent At today's Angelus Pope Francis gave away booklets containing "the wealth of our doctrine," the essentials of the faith: "the seven sacraments, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Ten Commandments, the virtues, works of mercy. .. ". The booklet was distributed by volunteers and homeless people. "Those who are in need are also the ones who give us this great wealth." Lent is a time "for spiritual battle against the spirit of evil", already won by Jesus in the desert. "We go into the desert without fear, because we are not alone, we are with Jesus." This afternoon, the Pope goes to Ariccia on retreat with the Curia: "Pray so that in this desert we can hear the voice of Jesus and correct our many defects".
02/20/2015VATICAN Pope: "a good Christian is just to the people who depend on him" "Love of God and love of neighbor are one in the same" and especially in Lent "fasting, is not just abstaining from meat” only to "fight with and exploit workers" and make offerings to the Church "on their backs". The point of Lent is "to think about them: what can I do for the children, for the elderly, who do not have the opportunity to be seen by a doctor?", who maybe wait "for eight hours and then they give an appointment for a week after ".
02/19/2015MIDDLE EAST For Gregory III Laham, Lent in the Middle East will be in the sign of the Cross The Melkite patriarch has no doubts, "This is a tragedy of the greatest tragedies of history - not just in the region, but in the world - since World War Two". For him, "as pastors", we "call on all citizens and our children (to work together and with Pope Francis) to not let the flame of hope be extinguished in your hearts."
02/18/2015VATICAN Pope: Lent, a time of conversion, a push to return into "the arms of God" "This work of conversion is not just a human endeavor. Reconciliation between us and God is possible thanks to the mercy of the Father. [. . .] We will do well to ask, at the beginning of this Lent, for the gift of tears, so as to make our prayer and our journey of conversion ever more authentic and without hypocrisy."
02/18/2015VATICAN Pope: "the international community must a find peaceful solutions to the difficult situation in Libya" Francis again asks for prayers at the general audience "for our Egyptian brothers," killed in Libya "for the mere fact of being Christian." Peace also for Ukraine. "Brother" and "sister" are "words that Christianity loves" and "history has shown enough, moreover, that the freedom and equality, without brotherhood, becomes filled with individualism and conformity, even personal interests".
02/17/2015VATICAN Pope calls on young people to be "revolutionaries" because the pure in heart "shall see God" "The Lord's invitation to encounter him is made to each of you, in whatever place or situation you find yourself. [. . .] God can be 'seen' also in the face of your brothers and sisters, especially those who are most forgotten: the poor, the hungry, those who thirst, strangers, the sick, those imprisoned." Be "revolutionary", and turn "against the widespread tendency to reduce love to something banal, reducing it to its sexual aspect alone."
02/17/2015VATICAN Pope celebrates Mass for the 21 Copts killed in Libya, "for sole reason of being Christian" We are all "capable of doing good, but also of destruction”. "In arms trafficking ... 'But, we are businessmen!' Yes, but of what? Of death? And there are countries that sell weapons, are at war with one side but also selling weapons to them, so that the war continues. A capacity for destruction".
02/16/2015ISLAM - EUROPE Attack on Europe: Islamic terrorism brings a new era by Samir Khalil Samir The Islamic State is a direct threat to Italy and Europe. The biggest risk is its power on "lone wolves" who can be induced to carry out attacks. As jihadism gives purpose to young European Muslims experiencing a crisis of identity and values, the new word "crusader" is disproportionately used in the war of words. Meanwhile, some kind of military operation has become necessary to curb Islamists' harmful and deadly power.
02/16/2015VATICAN - LIBYA - EGYPT For pope, Copts killed in Libya "simply for the fact that they were Christians" "The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard. It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants. They are Christians! Their blood is one and the same. Their blood confesses Christ."
02/16/2015VATICAN Pope: "We have much to receive from the poor whom we approach and whom we help" "Their presence is a reminder of our common humanity, of the fragility of life, of the dependence on God and on our brothers and sisters," the pontiff said. They "are often witnesses of what is essential, of family values; they are able to share with those who are even poorer than they, and they know to rejoice, as I was able to note in my recent Apostolic Voyage to Asia."
02/15/2015VATICAN For pope, Christ fights the world's evils and sufferings by taking them on and defeating them through God's mercy During the Angelus, Pope Francis spoke about how Jesus dealt with evil, noting with irony that he "does not act from a safe distance, nor does He act by proxy" or give "a 'lecture' on pain," but "takes upon himself the weight of our human condition [. . .] to free us in a radical and definitive way." Addressing the crowd directly, he asked them, "When you help others, do you look them in the eyes, do you welcome them without fear of touching them?" He sent his greetings to the peoples of the Far East for the lunar New Year, and elicited a round of applause for the new cardinals.
02/15/2015VATICAN Pope tells new cardinals that the Church's way is that of Jesus, that of mercy and reinstatement During the Mass in St Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis urged the new cardinals and every Christian not to fall into the temptation of turning "to Jesus without turning to the outcast," becoming "a closed caste with nothing authentically ecclesial about it." In today's Church, two ways of thinking are at odds with each other, the fear of losing "the saved" and the desire to "save the lost." However, we have "to serve Jesus crucified in every person who is marginalised, for whatever reason" and "see the Lord present even in those who have lost their faith, or turned away from the practice of their faith." Ultimately, "the Gospel of the marginalized is where our credibility is found and revealed!"
