Christians attacked for declaring truth
There are currently three European cases where Christians are under attack for speaking out biblical truth concerning gender and same-sex marriage issues. Pastor Akil Pano is accused of hate speech in Albania after defending the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’ and rejecting ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’. In Malta, Matthew Grech has been accused of promoting ‘gay conversion therapy’, and in Ireland teacher Enoch Burke has been removed from his job after refusing to call a transitioning pupil by a new name and ‘gender neutral’ pronouns. Also, in Finland the case of Päivi Räsänen continues; after being acquitted for expressing her views based on the Bible about sexuality and marriage, she is again having to defend her views at the Court of Appeal.
Israel: internal security
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is an Iran-supported terror organisation. On 27 January Israeli special forces conducted an unusually complex early morning raid in Jenin, eliminating a PIJ cell suspected of planning major attacks. The Associated Press reported nine dead including four Hamas terrorists and three from PIJ. The PIJ responded by issuing threats of escalation. We can pray for an increase in Israel's success against terrorism as accurate and actionable intelligence is passed on to Israel’s security forces. Hours after the raid seven people were killed outside a synagogue, and two Israelis were shot in occupied East Jerusalem. The worst violence in years across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories continues. On 29 January Pope Francis said, ‘It is with great pain that I hear news coming from the Holy Land.’ He called on Israel and Palestinians to engage in dialogue, pursue peace and halt the spiral of death.
Myanmar: deadly new tactic in civil war
As Zin Nwe Phyo and her classmates settled down with their teachers, bullets and bombs hit the school and children ran outside to hide. ‘Soldiers fired right through the school walls, hitting the children,’ said one eyewitness. ‘Pieces flying out of the main building injured children in the next building. There were big holes blown out of the ground floor.’ Their attackers were Russian Mi-35 helicopter gunships carrying powerful rapid-fire cannon and rockets which destroy people, vehicles and most buildings. Since Myanmar's military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, air strikes like this happen routinely in a civil war at a stalemate across much of the country. Zin Nwe Phyo and many others died that day. Resistance to military attacks on civilian targets has increased humanitarian needs and increased opportunities for Christian workers to share about Christ. Local missionaries care for children sheltering with them, opening the way to share the gospel with their parents.
Democratic Republic of Congo: ‘poison of greed’
When Pope Francis visited the DRC he said that the rich world must realise that people are more precious than minerals in the earth beneath them. Speaking to dignitaries at the presidential palace, he talked of ‘terrible forms of exploitation, unworthy of humanity, where vast mineral wealth fuels war, displacement and hunger. Hands off the DRC. Hands off Africa. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered.’ Congo has some of the world's richest diamond deposits as well as gold, copper, and other minerals. ‘The poison of greed has smeared its diamonds with blood,’ he said. An estimated 5.7 million people are internally displaced in Congo; 26 million face severe hunger, largely due to armed conflict. Half of the population are Roman Catholics, and the Church plays a crucial role in running schools and health facilities, as well as promoting democracy.
