RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES-PERSECUTION
Victims of persecution honored at summit of Christian conservatives
WASHINGTON (AP) β Victims of persecution have been honored at a weekend gathering of Christian conservatives in Washington.
The Family Research Council’s annual Values Voter Summit featured a dinner to honor Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman initially sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith.
Ibrahim, who moved to New Hampshire after her release from Sudan, told attendees in broken English, “God is good, all the time.”
She also encouraged a fellow honoree, Naghmeh Abedini (NAHG’-meh ab-eh-DEE’-nee), whose husband, American Pastor Saeed (sah-EED’) Abedini, has been jailed for two years in Iran. Through a translator, Ibrahim told her, “Do not fear, remain strong, take care of your kids and the Lord will be with you.”
Abedini said she has sought meetings with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry on her husband’s behalf, but hasn’t “even received a call.”
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178-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with freed Sudanese Christian Meriam Ibrahim)–Victims of persecution have been honored at a weekend gathering of Christian conservatives in Washington. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (28 Sep 2014)
< 162-a-08-(Meriam Ibrahim, freed Sudanese Christian, speaking through a translator, at Values Voter Summit)-“be with you”-Speaking through a translator, freed Sudanese Christian Meriam Ibrahim offers encouragement to Naghmeh Abedini, whose husband is an American pastor who has been jailed for two years in Iran. ((Naghmeh Abedini is pronounced NAHG’-meh ab-eh-DEE’-nee)) (28 Sep 2014) < 161-a-13-(Meriam Ibrahim, freed Sudanese Christian, at Values Voter Summit)-“God is good (second reference) (applause fades)”-Freed Sudanese Christian Meriam Ibrahim begins her remarks in English. (28 Sep 2014) < 164-a-12-(U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., at Values Voter Summit)-“kingdom of heaven”-New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith says Christians are suffering persecution in many countries. (28 Sep 2014) < 163-a-06-(Naghmeh Abedini (NAHG’-meh ab-eh-DEE’-nee), wife of American pastor Saeed Abedini, at Values Voter Summit)-“we’re with you”-Naghmeh Abedini, wife of American Pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been jailed for two years in Iran, says her appeals to top U.S. officials have gone unacknowledged. (28 Sep 2014) < BILLY GRAHAM-HEALTH Franklin Graham says his weakened father prays WASHINGTON (AP) β Just over a month shy of his 96th birthday, evangelist Billy Graham remains lucid but far weaker than last year, according to his son. The Rev. Franklin Graham says his father is in stable condition at home, but only has strength enough for short conversations and spends much of his time in prayer. On his 95th birthday last November 7, Billy Graham was celebrated at a party attended by hundreds that featured the release of a nationally-broadcast evangelistic film. Unused footage from that film has been assembled into a Billy Graham feature on heaven that will be released on his upcoming birthday. But Franklin Graham says any birthday observance for his father this November will be “a little quieter.” The younger Graham, who now heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, says, “I’m just thankful that I still have him with me, and he still gives me advice, so I appreciate that.” Sound: 240-a-09-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, in AP interview)-“all of us”-The Reverend Franklin Graham says his father prays daily for his family. (28 Sep 2014) < 239-a-10-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, in AP interview)-“lot of stamina”-The Reverend Franklin Graham says he met with his father less than two weeks ago. (28 Sep 2014) < 241-a-15-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, in AP interview)-“responsibility, uh, to pray”-The Reverend Franklin Graham says his father looks forward to heaven. (28 Sep 2014) < 242-a-14-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, in AP interview)-“day in prayer”-The Reverend Franklin Graham says his father doesn’t have the stamina for more than short conversations. (28 Sep 2014) < 237-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with the Reverend Franklin Graham)–Just over a month shy of his 96th birthday, evangelist Billy Graham remains lucid but far weaker than last year, according to his son. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (28 Sep 2014) < 238-a-06-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, in AP interview)-“lot of strength”-The Reverend Franklin Graham says his father is weak but in stable condition at home. (28 Sep 2014) < VATICAN-POPE-GRANDPARENTS Pope hails Benedict, other elderly at Vatican fest VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis has hailed the value of the elderly, including his predecessor Benedict XVI, who joined him at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square honoring the contribution of grandparents to society. Tens of thousands of people, many of them elderly couples and their grandchildren, applauded Sunday when Francis told them that Benedict’s living in papal retirement at the Vatican is “like having a wise grandparent at home.” Francis warmly embraced the frail, 87-year-old Benedict, who used a cane and wore a long white coat despite the warmth of a summerlike morning. Francis, who is 77, decried homes for the elderly that are like “prisons,” saying the elderly are often “forgotten, hidden, neglected” in society, tantamount to a kind of euthanasia. He said elderly persons transmit “wisdom and faith, the most precious inheritance.” Sound: 128-r-31-(Sound of Pope Francis in homily praising the elderly, during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square)–Sound of the pope drawing attention to the role of grandparents in countries like Albania, which has seen cruel religious persecution, and reflecting that grandparents there had to take the children to be baptized in secret. (28 Sep 2014) < 127-r-38-(Sound of Pope Francis in homily praising the elderly, during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square)–Sound of the pope Francis saying that having his predecessor Benedict XVI living in papal retirement at the Vatican is like having a wise grandparent at home. (28 Sep 2014) < CATHOLIC MASS MOB Catholic Mass mob packs Hamtramck’s St. Florian HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (AP) β The Catholic faithful are on the go again, packing a historic church in the Detroit enclave of Hamtramck (ham-TRAM’-ihk) as part of a campaign to breathe life into parishes where attendance has faltered. The Detroit Free Press reports that an overflow crowd of 2,000 people turned out for Sunday Mass at St. Florian Roman Catholic Church. The church opened in 1929 and has seating for 1,500. The newspaper says that the Rev. Miroslaw Frankowski (MIH’-roh-slahv fran-KAWV’-skee) got laughs when he asked worshippers where they were the week before. Typical attendance is about 200. The church was the sixth the Detroit Mass Mob movement has visited. The Archdiocese of Detroit has closed a number of older churches in Detroit in recent decades as the Catholic population has shifted to the suburbs. SPAIN-OPUS DEI BEATIFICATION Spain celebrates beatification of Opus Dei leader MADRID (AP) β The second most important figure in the Opus Dei religious order has been beatified at an open air Mass attended by tens of thousands of Catholics, sending Alvaro Del Portillo on the final step toward sainthood and illustrating how the once secretive order has become more mainstream. Del Portillo succeeded Opus Dei’s founder. The miracle attributed to him for his beatification was confirmed last year by Pope Francis. A second miracle must be certified for Del Portillo, who died in 1994, to become a saint. Catholics who swarmed Madrid for the beatification from Africa, Latin America and the Philippines were confident that would happen. OKLAHOMA-WORKPLACE BEHEADING Official: Oklahoma beheading suspect a bit ‘weird’ OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) β A spokesman for an Oklahoma City Islamic group says a man accused of beheading one woman and attacking another at a food processing plant from which he was fired was seen as “a little odd” and “a little weird” by those who attended the same mosque he did. Saad Mohammed, director of information for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, says 30-year-old Alton Nolen began worshipping at one of the group’s mosques in May and that he has seen him there several times since. Mohammed says Nolen wasn’t outgoing and that his behavior didn’t raise any red flags. He says Nolen attended services where sermons were delivered against beheadings like those committed by Islamic State militants. Mohammed says Nolen’s actions do not reflect the beliefs of Islam. UNITED NATIONS-YOGA DAY India leader proposes International Yoga Day UNITED NATIONS (AP) β India’s prime minister is proposing a new addition to the lengthy list of annual U.N. observances: World Yoga Day. In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extolled the therapeutic powers of yoga and said it could help tackle global problems. Modi told delegates Saturday that yoga could, “bring a change in our lifestyle and create awareness in us, and it can help in fighting against climate change.” The Indian leader has a reputation as an ascetic. He’s in the midst of a nine-day fast dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga. The U.N. already has 118 awareness-raising days of observance, including the International Day of Happiness, World Soil Day, International Mother Earth Day and International Jazz Day.
