Vatican City: Butler 'wanted to rid Vatican of evil and corruption'
The Pope's private butler, 46 year old Paolo Gabriele, stole a raft of private documents from the Pontiff's office and ‘leaked’ them to the media as part of a campaign to rid the Vatican of ‘evil and corruption.’ A judge ordered Gabriele to stand trial for aggravated theft. A Vatican IT expert was also charged in connection with the leaking of the documents and faces a lesser accusation of aiding and abetting. According to a 35-page document Gabriele had told prosecutors that he had acted because he had seen ‘evil and corruption everywhere in the Church’ and he wanted to stop it spreading, adding. ‘I reached the point of no return. I was sure that a shock, perhaps by using the media, could be a healthy thing to bring the Church back on the right track.’ The Pope's spokesman said the Pope could step in and pardon Mr Gabriele and avoid a trial.
Pray: that the Vatican will open itself up to appropriate external scrutiny so that anything hidden will be revealed. (Job 9:4-6)
Vatican City: Butler 'wanted to rid Vatican of evil and corruption'
The Pope's private butler, 46 year old Paolo Gabriele, stole a raft of private documents from the Pontiff's office and ‘leaked’ them to the media as part of a campaign to rid the Vatican of ‘evil and corruption.’ A judge ordered Gabriele to stand trial for aggravated theft. A Vatican IT expert was also charged in connection with the leaking of the documents and faces a lesser accusation of aiding and abetting. According to a 35-page document Gabriele had told prosecutors that he had acted because he had seen ‘evil and corruption everywhere in the Church’ and he wanted to stop it spreading, adding. ‘I reached the point of no return. I was sure that a shock, perhaps by using the media, could be a healthy thing to bring the Church back on the right track.’ The Pope's spokesman said the Pope could step in and pardon Mr Gabriele and avoid a trial.
Pray: that the Vatican will open itself up to appropriate external scrutiny so that anything hidden will be revealed. (Job 9:4-6)
West Africa: Food shortage
A deepening food crisis in West Africa’s Sahel region sparks fears of famine. Events might easily mirror the devastation seen recently in the Horn of Africa unless urgent action is taken. According to a new report commissioned by World Vision and Save the Children a lack of ability to access, grow, and store food year after year means millions of children in West Africa now live in a state of permanent food shortage. The report calls for a radical rethinking of policies to address hunger in West Africa. Contributing factors to this situation are low rainfall and rising food prices leading to poor harvests and declining food supplies. Crop yields have been nonexistent in some areas and severely reduced in others. In addition recent conflicts, the return of hundreds of migrant workers, and a flow of refugees from Mali into one of the most affected areas of Niger has further strained an already stressed food supply.
Pray: for the 18 million affected across Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Senegal who are facing desperate food shortages are in imminent danger of doing so. (Is.58:7)
More: http://www.worldvision.org/news/west-africa-food-crisis-qa
Somalia: Election next week
As the process for ending Somalia's political transition gathers momentum, some presidential candidates have been accused of interfering with the process of electing new parliamentarians and vote-buying ahead of the presidential election, which is due to take place on August 20. It is common to hear one of the dozens of presidential candidates say ‘I want to run for president.’ In response many Somali politicians and the public ask, ‘Does he have money to buy votes?’ Dr Abdirahman Mohamed, a presidential candidate, says questioning how deep is the pocket of a candidate is like saying only corrupt leaders who have stolen from state coffers are eligible to run. The transition process calls for clan elders to choose members of a new parliament. Those new lawmakers will then elect the new president.
Pray: that vote-buying and corruption will not influence the future for Somalia’s government. (Ps.45:3-5)
