www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Mission: Especially Sudan

The Clinton admistration already banned trading with Sudan for oil or anything else. The Sudanese are now tradign with us through Chinese corporations liek Petro-China and the Bush adminstration refusing to act, due to his alliance with pro-Chiense corporate free traders.

The UK has nor written constitution so your information there is obviously inacurrate.

K.

If we wait long enough, there will be a bunch of temples we can dismantle and send over to the Old Country according to some of my friends living in Western Canada. The U.S. is close behind in becoming a missionary territory for Byzantine Catholics. We have our work cut out here. Not many celibate seminarians; not many celibate bi-ritualist Roman Catholic clergy; so we must rely on the Holy Spirit to send us leadership for our Church.

Joe

Dear Thomas,

Just a note to say that the practice of tattooing Ethiopian Christians on the forehead and wrists actually comes from the Old Testament re: phylacteries.

I once viewed the remains of a Sudanese Orthodox Bishop from the fourteenth century. The skeletal hands still held the hand-Cross, the prayer shawl was still wrapped around him and he still had the blue cord with the Cross around his neck - identical to today.

Christian Copts throughout the Horn of Africa are being horribly persecuted and we have an obligation to respond, even as Agape says.

In former times, Muslims would be welcomed at Christian Shrines there. How things have changed. Prayer, fasting and alms - something we may all do!

Alex

Blah blah blah. You don't know a thing about Muslims. I suggest you get a book on Islam and read about it, and see that there are many different types of Muslims, just like there are many different types of Christians. Do you think that all Muslims are like our Fundamentalist Baptist counterparts?!

It is true that under Islamic caliphates and the Turks, our churches in the Middle East were wiped out. HOWEVER oftentimes Muslims and Christians got along pretty well. Let's not forget that the Copts basically invited the Muslims into Egypt because of the Byzantine persecution of them.

The Assyrian Church of the East did pretty well under Islam. It wasn't until Tamerlane the Mongol that they were effectively reduced.

Muslims in India would laugh at your statement that Muslims are taking over the world. Indian Muslims tend to get along great with Christians in india (it is the Hindu fanatical minority that they have to worry about).

As I have stated before, also, just becuase the Sudanese government calls itself Muslim does not mean in represents Islam, either. The Arab Muslims in the North persecute the Black Muslims in the South, too--It's not just Christians that are getting abused in Sudan.

You need to stop making racist generalizations about "those Muslims". They are people just like you and me.

anastasios
--Who actually knows real live Muslims and counts many as his friends

Go Dustin!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Kurt! Wow we have just gotten so close this year! :-)

anastasios

Dear Anastasios and Kurt,

As I understand it, the keys to the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem are kept by a Muslim family, as none of the six Orthodox and Catholic Churches who use the Church could agree on this amongst themselves. There is peace as a result.

It is good that Muslims are also bringing Christians more closely together here!

Al-Messiah Kam!

Haqqan Kam!

Alex

�:


WIRE: 04/14/2001 6:59 pm ET


Concern mounts for suspected African child slaves
By Jean-Luc Aplogan


COTONOU, April 15 (Reuters) - Aid workers expressed concern over the welfare and whereabouts of a boatload of suspected child slaves who were expected to arrive in Benin on Sunday after two weeks at sea.


They feared government pledges to punish those guilty of trafficking children may backfire and put the 180 minors thought to be on board at even more risk as the ship's crew sought to escape retribution.
"The captain knows full well that he will have to face the music when he gets back here, so he may have tried to offload the children in another port," Estelle Guluman of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), told Reuters late on Saturday.
"That is a big concern for us -- it would be very difficult to trace them," she said, adding that she did not know where the ship was at present.

The Nigerian-registered MV Etireno was thought to be involved in a lucrative trade in minors sold by poor families and forced to work abroad on plantations or as servants.
Guluman said there were unconfirmed reports the ship might head for Lagos in Nigeria, where UNICEF staff were on standby.
Aid agencies and government officials in Benin's main port of Cotonou, from where port officials said the ship set sail on March 30, were preparing to look after the children until their families could be traced.


"SHOCKING SITUATION"
"This is a dramatic and shocking situation. We have taken all the necessary steps to receive the children," Information Minister Gaston Zossou told reporters on Saturday.
"We are waiting for the boat, but we do not know who is on board. They could be from Nigeria, Togo or Ghana -- not only from Benin. We condemn this practice and we must take measures to punish and discourage those responsible," he added.
Port officials said the Etireno had been chartered by a Benin businessman and set sail for Gabon.
But after being turned back from Gabon and Cameroon's main port of Douala, the ship set out for Cotonou late on Thursday, and port officials said it may take until late on Sunday to complete its round trip of more than 2,000 km (1,250 miles).
Benin Social and Women's Affairs Minister Ramatou Baba-Moussa said on Friday she believed there were 180 children aboard. Earlier figures put the number at 250.


Despite international efforts to curb the trade, child slavery persists in West and Central Africa, from where European slave traders shipped millions of people to the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.
Aid workers said their families may have been told that, once working, their children would send cash home regularly.
But after receiving a small amount of cash -- sometimes as little as 10,000 to 20,000 CFA francs ($14-$28) -- many families never see or hear from their children again, they said.


Many child slaves from countries such as Benin, Togo and Mali end up working on plantations producing cocoa and other cash crops in Gabon and Ivory Coast, where farmers can pay modern-day slave traders up to 250,000 CFA ($340) per child.
Thousands of children aged nine to 12 are thought to work on plantations in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer.
Life there is hard. Anti-child labour campaigners say youngsters are often forced to work for up to 12 hours a day and sometimes subjected to physical and sexual abuse.


"When I cried out, the God of righteousness heard me!"

"For the travelers by sea...for the sick, the suffering, for captives, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord."

Vasili
New Light Old Believers of New Smyrna






[This message has been edited by Vasili (edited 04-16-2001).]

Dear Anastasios:

How can I be a racist? I thought Islam embrassed many races: White, Black, oriental.The whole purpose of this post was to explain the persecution of Christians in Sudan, by Muslims. I wasn't talking about what happened in the 10th century. All you have to do is watch the news. A 14 year old Muslim boy was interviewed on tv, living in Indonesia. He bragged about killing 3 Christians! But I doubt if he is racists. Muslims attached Christians in India on Christmlas Eve. Muslims looted Christian stores and homes in Nazareth last year because they opposed the building of a mosque near a Christian church. But I doubt if they are racist according to you. Probably the reason why the U.S. government or our churches in the U.S. won't get involved in Sudan is because they would be accused of being racist.

Mike,

From reading your post, you seem to lump all Muslims into one category: "them", as if they are a race. Thus the term racist.
Perhaps I should have referred to your attitude differently, at present I have no suggestions. Do you?

My point is this: your listing of all those above cases means nothing to me; Christians do those things too, you know. As far as in India, where do you get this information that Muslims killed Christians? When I was in India, Muslims treated me with the greatest respect, and told me they were glad I worshipped Allah. Hindu fanatics were the dangerous element, not Muslims.

anastasios

Anastasios, you might find this article interesting.

Deadly Attacks Signal New Tension in Moluccas


AMBON, Indonesia, MAY 14, 2001 (Zenit.org).- Three people were killed and two seriously wounded after a boat carrying Christians was attacked with firearms and grenades, the Ambon Diocese reported.

The Sunday incident may have in retaliation for an attack on a Muslim boat on May 10 that left three people dead. Muslim leaders accused Christians of the attack and threatened reprisals if the culprits were not arrested, according to the Misna missionary agency. One Muslim was quoted as saying it was not possible to reconcile with "infidel Christians."

The latest attacks signal a renewal in interreligious tensions in the Indonesian archipelago. The Ambon Crisis Center estimates that 8,000 people have died and 500,000 routed since the start of the ethnic and religious conflict in the Moluccas in 1999.

Deadly Bangladesh Blast Condemned by Pope
Police Detain 7 Suspects in Church Bombing

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 4, 2001 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II sent a telegram expressing his sympathy and offering his prayers for the 10 people killed by a bomb explosion during a crowded Mass on Sunday in a Catholic church in Bangladesh.

In his message to Bishop Michael Atul D'Rozario of the Khulna Diocese, the Pontiff expressed his closeness to the families affected by the tragedy in Baniarchar. The Holy Father condemned all acts of violence and destruction, and appealed to Bangladeshis to work to "ensure a climate of peace and mutual respect."

The papal telegram, sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, reads:

"Deeply saddened by news of the explosion at Baniarchar Church, the Holy Father asks you to convey to the parishioners the assurance of his closeness in prayer at this time of tragedy and loss. His Holiness commends those who have died to our heavenly Father's mercy, and upon their grieving families and the injured, he invokes the powerful intercession of Mary, comforter of the afflicted.

"Condemning acts of violence and destruction, he appeals to all to cooperate in ensuring a climate of peace and respect. As a pledge of comfort and strength in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Father cordially imparts his apostolic blessing."

Police detained seven suspects today in the bombing, the Associated Press reported. A police spokesman said the seven young men were from the area, but he refused further details.

The bomb exploded behind a shelf of books in the tin-roofed church in the village about 65 miles southwest of the capital, Dhaka.

The Pentecost Sunday blast also wounded 16 people. Religious attacks are rare on minority Christians in this predominantly Muslim country.

The funerals for the victims were held today. According to a Vatican Radio program, speculation about the bombing is centering on Muslim fundamentalists.

"However, the excellent interreligious relations established in the diocese, and the prestige won by the young Catholic community because of its works of assistance and charity, make one think, rather, that it was the action of a terrorist group," Vatican Radio concluded.