CP World Report: Dark Night Shooting, Christian Martyr Museum, Bible Ripping, Madonna Poland Concert
Correction Appended
A deadly shooting rampage at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Fourteen people were killed and over 50 injured when a lone gunman opened fire during an early morning screening of the new Batman movie. A suspect is now in custody.
Christian Solidarity International USA has commissioned a troubling report about the increasing incidents of abductions and forced conversions of Coptic Christians in Egypt since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. The report, entitled " "Tell My Mother I Miss Her"reveals the stories of missing Coptic Christian Women and girls who are being deceptively lured or abducted into forced marriages with Muslim men. They are also forced under threats—and sometimes physical abuse--to renounce their faith and convert to Islam. The findings aim to illicit action from government bodies and the international community.
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Fighting continues to be fierce in and around Damascus following the blast at the government building that killed three top officials, including al Assad's brother-in-law and the defense minister who was the highest Christian official in government. Yesterday alone, more than 77 people were killed.The whereabouts of al Assad, his wife and their three young children are unknown.
Meanwhile….. Russia and China have vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution because it would have placed new sanctions on Syria. Li Baodong , China's Ambassador to the UN says although China went ahead with a veto, his country has no personal interest in the issue…..
Incumbent Shawn Atleo has been re-elected as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada. Observers say results of the voting make it clear that a confrontational approach to federal politics does not sit well with the more than 500 chiefs who cast their ballots. Atleo's supporters said a second term will give him the chance to build a respectful relationship with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper was quick to congratulate Atleo, who wants to address outstanding treaty issues.
A member of Israel's parliament, Knesset, is being chastised by fellow Israeli officials and the Anti-Defamation League for publicly ripping the New Testament pages of a bible and throwing them in the trash. The bible was sent to him by The Bible Society in Israel along with 120 other members of Knesset. But Michael Ben-Ari saw it as a method of evangelizing and took offense , calling it provocative. He said quote: "This horrible book caused the murder of millions of Jews in the inquisition". While most of his colleagues agreed, they did not approve of the way he expressed his disapproval.
A church in Rome has opened up a memorial to modern-day Christian martyrs that pays tribute to those who have given their lives to help others. It includes individuals and groups of various denominations. The initiative was first started by John Paul II in 1993. Among those remembered: victims of Communism , the Mexican and Spanish civil wars and victims of Nazism, and Shahbaz Bhatti, the Pakistani minister for minorities, a Christian killed by his bodyguard last year
The full list of the exhibitions is available on the Basilica of St. Bartholomew website
IN HEALTH NEWS…..
Some dolls that look very different from the norm are on store shelves. They're bald and include Barbie's friends and Bratz dolls. This is owed,in part to one New Jersey mom and cancer patient.
Here's the story……
IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS….
A group of young Catholics announced the launch of a petition to cancel a concert of Madonna's in Poland that coincides with the Nazi victims memorial on August 1st. Madonna's concert is scheduled to take place at Warsaw's new National Stadium, which has a capacity of 70,000 people and the Christian Youth Organization-- Youth Crusade—is hoping the petition that already drew 31-thousand people online will be enough to encourage Madonna to postpone her concert. An estimated 200,000 Poles died in the Polish rebellion against Nazi Germany during WWII; and every year on Aug. 1 at 5pm sirens wail through the capital, reminding citizens to take a one-minute period of silence in commemoration.
Correction: Tuesday, July 24, 2012:
A World Report video on July 20, 2012 incorrectly credited Christian Solidarity Worldwide for commissioning a report on abductions and forced conversions of Coptic Christians in Egypt since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. The report was commissioned by Christian Solidarity International USA.
