Pakistan: Frees Christian ‘blasphemy girl’; flown to safety
A 14-year-old mentally-challenged Christian girl accused of blaspheming Islam was released from a notorious prison near the capital Islamabad Saturday, September 8, and flown to an unknown location, an advocacy official involved in her case told BosNewsLife. ‘She will not go back to the same Islamabad slum area where she came from because of security concerns,’ confirmed Farrukh H Saif, executive director of Pakistan-based Human Rights group World Vision In Progress (WVIP). Video footage seen by BosNewsLife showed heavily armed Pakistani security forces escorting the young girl, who had her face covered, to an awaiting helicopter. Saif said his group is investigating media reports that she has been taken to the women department of Islamabad police headquarters following her release on bail from Adiala Jail. Pakistan's Minister for National Harmony, Paul Bhatti, did not elaborate, saying only that she was flown ‘to a safe place’ and reunited with her family.
Praise: God that the authorities have seen fit to release Rimsha Masih and pray for her safety and her family. (Ps.4:8)
Pakistan: Frees Christian ‘blasphemy girl’; flown to safety
A 14-year-old mentally-challenged Christian girl accused of blaspheming Islam was released from a notorious prison near the capital Islamabad Saturday, September 8, and flown to an unknown location, an advocacy official involved in her case told BosNewsLife. ‘She will not go back to the same Islamabad slum area where she came from because of security concerns,’ confirmed Farrukh H Saif, executive director of Pakistan-based Human Rights group World Vision In Progress (WVIP). Video footage seen by BosNewsLife showed heavily armed Pakistani security forces escorting the young girl, who had her face covered, to an awaiting helicopter. Saif said his group is investigating media reports that she has been taken to the women department of Islamabad police headquarters following her release on bail from Adiala Jail. Pakistan's Minister for National Harmony, Paul Bhatti, did not elaborate, saying only that she was flown ‘to a safe place’ and reunited with her family.
Praise: God that the authorities have seen fit to release Rimsha Masih and pray for her safety and her family. (Ps.4:8)
Teachers 'face sack' for refusing to endorse gay marriage
Schools will be within their statutory rights to dismiss staff that wilfully fail to use stories or textbooks promoting same-sex weddings, it is claimed. Aidan O’Neill, a senior QC and expert on religious freedom and human rights, also warned that parents who object to gay marriage being taught to their children will have no right to withdraw their child from lessons. In a
report he said that any decision to redefine marriage would have far-reaching consequences for schools, hospitals, foster carers and public buildings. The most serious impact is likely to be felt in the church where vicars and priests conducting religious marriage ceremonies could be taken to court for refusing to carry out a gay wedding, he said. The conclusions - in legal advice commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage - come amid continuing fall-out over Government plans to tear up the centuries-old law on marriage.
Pray: for all those who are being challenged for their faith in the workplace. (Mt.10:20)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9531803/Teachers-face-sack-for-refusing-to-endorse-gay-marriage.html
Christian Green councillor’s disappointment with Party
A Christian councillor has spoken of her disappointment as she faces dismissal from the Green Party for opposing gay marriage. Christina Summers, a member of Brighton and Hove Council, was investigated by the Party after she spoke and voted against a motion in support of the Government’s plans to introduce same-sex marriage during a council meeting in July. She did so on grounds of her Christian belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. A disciplinary inquiry panel was set up by the Green Party to carry out the investigation. The panel recommended on Monday that Councillor Summers be expelled from the Party. Councillor Summers said that although she had still not been formally dismissed yet, it was unlikely that the Party would change its mind following the public announcement of the panel’s recommendation. The panel has no authority to enact the recommendation, which must instead be put to Green Party Councillors to vote on and ratify.
Pray: for those in public office that they will speak out their Christian beliefs boldly and not hold back. (Jn.7:18)
