Prayer to End Abortion

Note: This prayer was written by Father Frank Pavone, National Director Priests for Life.

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,

And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.

I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,

Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son.

I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.

Today I commit myself

Never to be silent,

Never to be passive,

Never to be forgetful of the unborn.

I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,

And never to stop defending life

Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,

And our nation once again becomes

A nation with liberty and justice

Not just for some, but for all,

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: Irish 'Yes' Vote on Same-Sex 'Marriage' Poses Significant Threat to Religious Freedom

Note: The following is a press release from The Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Rome, 21 May 2015

Ireland will tomorrow become the first country to use a national referendum to allow same-sex “marriage”, posing a probable threat to religious freedom in the country if the electorate vote “Yes.”

Although the government plans to protect the right of churches not to celebrate same-sex “marriage”, this will appear only in legislation and not in the Constitution.

This leaves open the possibility of a same-sex couple taking the matter to court and winning the case, as the Constitution will have no protections for the Church if it refuses to officiate the ceremony.

In addition to this, and the obvious threat to the traditional family a “Yes” vote would present, European Dignity Watch has pointed out that the debate leading up to tomorrow’s referendum has been anything but fair.

All of Ireland’s publicly-funded political parties have actively campaigned for a “Yes” vote and used heavy handed tactics to ensure their members tow the party line, threatening them with expulsion if they don’t.

The country’s media has been overwhelmingly in favor of the “Yes” campaign, and ignored a Supreme Court ruling that both sides of the debate be given equal coverage.

Large multinationals employing many people in Ireland, such as Facebook and eBay, have told their employees to vote “Yes” and campaign for such a result on social media.

Wealthy donors have helped fund the "Yes" campaign, including a foreign billionaire - despite such funding being illegal under Irish electoral law. The Irish government has so far not reacted to this breach.

Ireland’s police are also actively supporting the "Yes" campaign, allowing police stations to be used for photo opportunities.

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute is greatly concerned by the threat a "Yes" vote presents.

"We call on all people who believe man is created in the image and likeness of God to do whatever they can to ensure a "No" vote succeeds," said DHI Chairman Luca Volontè. "As this is a referendum, the result will carry more weight than parliamentary legislation. The consequences of a "Yes" vote would therefore be disastrous for Ireland."

He added: "Given the limited time and the huge financial resources behind the "Yes" campaign, the best courses of action at this stage are fervent prayer, and the intercession of St. Patrick."

The Dignitatis Humanae Instituteaims to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.

When I Say No, I Mean 'No'

I recently made a post which you may read here, in which I explained why I would no longer be utilizing GoFundMe in an attempt to raise funds for my cataract surgery.

Now it seems that GoFundMe has deleted yet another campaign. This time for a Christian florist, Arlene’s Flowers, a Washington state flower shop that also faces a fine for refusing to provide flower arrangements for a gay couple’s wedding.

GoFundMe has also changed their terms of service (according to an article on TheWashington Post online) to now exclude “campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts”.

As GoFundMe has decided to exclude those Christians who have been persecuted by the elements that GoFundMe apparently fears, I have decided that I will not personally contribute to any fund raising efforts made by any group or individual that chooses to utilize GoFundMe.

If GoFundMe can exclude persecuted Christians, than this Christian will exclude GoFundMe as well.

Standing With The Klien Family

As many of you are well aware, I am in need of cataract surgery. I had started a campaign to raise funds for my much needed surgery by using the crowd funding site, GoFundMe.

I had seen and heard good things about GoFundMe, but a recent decision of theirs has prompted me to remove my campaign from their site entirely.

My reason for deleting my campain is best summed up in the description given on a petition (which I have signed) at CitizenGo.org:

GoFundMe just removed a campaign... simply because it supported a couple exercising their Christian faith.

Sweet Cakes by Melissa owners Aaron and Melissa Klien refused to bake a cake for a lesbian same-sex ceremony after discovering that the wedding would have two brides. This same-sex ceremony went against their firmly held religious beliefs, and they believed that their God-given, Constitutionally-protected right to religious freedom should allow them to decline to bake a cake for the ceremony.

The state of Oregon disagreed with this right. The lesbian couple sued the Kliens, and they will likely have to pay at least $135,000 in "emotional damages" to the couple.

As if this compromise of religious freedom was not enough, GoFundMe took down a fundraiser to support the Klien family. The fundraiser was posted by a friend of the family late last week, and it had already raised $66,000 by Friday afternoon. But on Friday evening, the campaign was taken down by GoFundMe.

GoFundMe released a statement claiming that the fundraiser violated their “Terms and Conditions.” In the terms and conditions, GoFundMe explains that “Campaigns in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes, including violent, hateful, or sexual acts,” will not be allowed on their site. In deciding to remove this campaign, they're accusing the Kliens of committing a crime that was both “heinous” and “hateful.”....

You may read the rest here. While you are there, sign the petition!

I can not in good conscience continue to have my needs take precedence over GoFundMe's apparent decision on caving in to the pressure of the "unnatural marriage" crowd and their willing co-horts.

I fully support the Klien family and their willingness to stand by their religious convictions. In removing my campaign, I also stand by mine.

Armenian, Assyrian, Greek Genocide: 100 Years of Remembrance

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

In his Sunday sermon on April 12, "Pope Francis referred to the 1915 Turkish mass killings of Armenians as the 'first genocide of the 20th century.'"

This papal declaration instantly flared into a diplomatic uproar. It absolutely infuriated Turkey's Islamist President Tayyip Erdogan, who "warned" the Pope against repeating his "mistaken" statement.

There was actually no mistake about it: The fact is, the Armenian Genocide cost 1.5 million Armenian Christians their lives, along with another million Assyrian and Greek believers.

And, thanks to the Pope's pronouncement and Erdogan's outrage, the rest of the world was effectively reminded of the approaching centennial of that genocide, which will take place on April 24.

Read more by clicking below:

Armenian, Assyrian, Greek Genocide: 100 Years of Remembrance

Obama Claims Islamic State Murder of Christians Unrelated to Christianity | FrontPage Magazine

The following excerpts are from Frontoage Mag:

Obama’s condemnations of terror look a whole lot like alibis. Take his response to the brutal Islamic State beheadings of Coptic Christians in Libya, after his disastrous regime change war there.

The title of the ISIS video is “A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross.”

The Islamic State Jihadists call Christians “Crusaders” and threaten to conquer Rome. They swear in the name of Allah. And they make assorted threats aimed at Christians.

“Oh people, recently you’ve seen us on the hills of Al-Sham [Greater Syria] and on Dabeq’s Plain, chopping off the heads that had been carrying the cross delusion for a long time, filled with spite against Islam and Muslims, and today we… are sending another message: oh crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes.”

“Especially when you’re fighting us all together, therefore we will fight you all together until the war lays down its burdens and Jesus peace be upon him will descend, breaking the cross, killing the swine,” the speaker continues.

(When Muslims say that they believe in Jesus, this is what they mean.)

That’s all rather straightforward. The White House press release, far less personal than Obama’s own claim that the Chapel Hill shootings over a parking dispute were Islamophobic, however issued a formal condemnation followed by the usual alibi.

The condemnation not only fails to mention Islamic terrorism, but makes no mention of the fact that Christians were murdered for being Christians.

“ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds. It is unconstrained by faith, sect, or ethnicity,” the White House press release says.

Read more by clicking below:

Obama Claims Islamic State Murder of Christians Unrelated to Christianity | FrontPage Magazine

No Room in America for Christian Refugees

The following excerpts are from AINA.org. All emphases are mine:

At the end of World War II, the Jewish survivors of Europe's Holocaust found that nearly every door was closed to them. "Tell Me Where Can I Go?" was a popular Yiddish song at the time. Decades later, the Christians of the Middle East face the same problem, and the Obama administration is keeping the door shut.

America is about to accept 9000 Syrian Muslims, refugees of the brutal war between the Assad regime and its Sunni opposition, which includes ISIS, Al Qaeda, and various other militias. That number is predicted to increase each year. There are no Christian refugees that will be admitted.

Why? Because the Department of State is adhering with all the rigidity of a Soviet era bureaucracy to the rule that only people at risk from massacres launched by the regime qualify for refugee status. The rapes of Christian women and the butchery of Christian children do not count. No matter how moved Americans were this Christmas season by the plight of their fellow Christ followers in Syria and Iraq, no matter how horrific the visuals of beheadings, enslavement, and mass murder, the Christians fleeing death do not engender the compassion of this president. The Christians are being raped, tortured, and murdered by militias, not by the Syrian government. This technicality condemns them to continue to be victims without hope. And this technicality is being adhered to with all the tenacity with which President Franklin D. Roosevelt's State Department manipulated quotas and created subterfuges to keep out the Jews fleeing the oppression of Nazi Germany. Obama no more wants the Middle East's Christian refugees than Roosevelt wanted Europe's Jewish refugees.

We have seen in the last several weeks that President Obama has no difficulty using his "phone and his pen," as he dramatically boasts, to circumvent the law. When it comes to immigration, he had no difficulty enacting an amnesty that a federal judge subsequently ruled unconstitutional. He has had no problem circumventing Congress to change the relationship with Cuba. This president has shown that he will push back on the constraints of law when he wants to get something done.

But there are not even such constraints when it comes to the Middle East's Christians fleeing the brutality of ISIS and Al Qaeda. The Department of State chooses to adhere to a definition of refugees as people persecuted by their own government. What difference does it make which army imperils the lives of innocent Christians? Christians are still be slaughtered for being Christian, and their government is incapable of protecting them. Does some group have to come along--as Jewish groups did during the Holocaust--and sardonically guarantee that these are real human beings?

The Christians would barely have to be vetted for ties to terror organizations, which by their very nature do not take Christians. Meanwhile, there is the uncomfortable issue that among the Sunni refugees there are some in league with the Sunni terror militias. And beyond that there is the equally uncomfortable question of the acculturation of segments of the Muslim community.

...it is time for all people of good will to say to the Obama administration that telling Christians awaiting death that there is no room for them in the inn is not only unacceptable, it is also, to use President Obama's own words, "not who we are." This season, Christians need to make their voice heard. They should not act as the Jews did, waiting for a president who had no intention of doing anything, to do something.

Read more by clicking below:

No Room in America for Christian Refugees

Pope Francis' Prayer Intentions for January 2015

Vatican City, 30 December 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father's universal prayer intention for January 2015 is: “That those from diverse religious traditions and all people of good will may work together for peace”.

His intention for evangelisation is: “That in this year dedicated to consecrated life, religious men and women may rediscover the joy of following Christ and strive to serve the poor with zeal”.

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

Snickering Monk? It's Not What You Think!

One of the things I like in life is humor. I enjoy it immensely. After all, with a face like mine, you better learn what humor is and how to laugh really fast.

So, the good monks of The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming, who offer their great varieties of Mystic Monk Coffee, have shown that they also enjoy a little humor with the name of their flavored coffee, Snickering Monk Candy Bar Coffee. (I can somehow imagine a group of snickering monks in a corner by themselves.)

They describe Snickering Monk as:

"Rich chocolate, roasted peanuts and sweet caramel, combined with the finest 100% Arabica coffee make the Snickering Monk Candy Bar a coffee to remember. Add warm cream and sweeten for a delectable fall treat!"

The Snickering Monk is available in regular ground and whole bean, and in ground decaffeinated.

They also have available their Thanksgiving Blend well in time for the cooler weather.

It is described as follows:

"Initial grapefruit impressions give way and open up to panoramic complexity; The malt, dark chocolate, cloves and charred cedar notes quickly gain momentum and surge into an expansive and full-bodied aftertaste that slowly retires, leaving traces of caramel, vanilla and bittersweet chocolate. Versatile enough to be served with or without cream, this complex blend is the perfect accompaniment to any dessert."

The Thanksgiving Blend is available in regular ground and whole bean only.

So you may want to give one of both of these coffees a try.

Don't forget, they also have Monk Shots available in several varieties for those of you with single serve machines, and they have 15 varieties available in 5 Pound Bags for parishes and offices/

Either way, when you purchase Mystic Monk Coffee, your purchase helps to support the monastery of The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming.

Some Assyrians Who Fled Their Town Say They Wish to Leave Iraq

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

(AINA) -- Some Assyrians who were forced by ISIS to flee from Telsqof, an Assyrian town north of Mosul, say they do not wish to return but leave Iraq. In an interview conducted by the World Council of Churches and posted on youtube, residents of Telsqof say they have no future and would like to leave Iraq. A resident shows cell phone pictures of their homes which have been destroyed and asks how can we return to our homes.

In the interview the residents say ISIS looted, destroyed or booby trapped their homes with explosives. All of the residents fled the town.

Read more by clicking below:

Some Assyrians Who Fled Their Town Say They Wish to Leave Iraq

Pope backs use of force against Islamic militants attacking religious minorities in Iraq | Fox News

The following excerpts are from FoxNews.com:

Pope Francis on Monday endorsed the use of force to stop Islamic militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq but said the international community -- and not just one country -- should decide how to intervene.

Francis also said he and his advisers were considering whether he might go to northern Iraq himself to show solidarity with persecuted Christians. But he said he was holding off for now on a decision.

In other comments to journalists returning from South Korea, Francis confirmed he hoped to travel to the United States in September 2015 for a possible three-city tour: to attend a family rally in Philadelphia and to address Congress in Washington and the United Nations in New York. He said a Mexico stop on that trip was possible but not decided yet. He also said he might make one-day visit to Spain next year.

On Iraq, Francis was asked if he approved of the unilateral U.S. airstrikes on militants of the Islamic State who have captured swaths of northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria and have forced minority Christians and others to either convert to Islam or flee their homes.

"In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor," Francis said. "I underscore the verb `stop.' I'm not saying `bomb' or `make war,' just `stop.' And the means that can be used to stop them must be evaluated."

But, he said, in history, such "excuses" to stop an unjust aggression have been used by world powers to justify a "war of conquest" in which an entire people have been taken over.

"One nation alone cannot judge how you stop this, how you stop an unjust aggressor," he said, apparently referring to the United States. "After World War II, the idea of the United Nations came about: It's there that you must discuss `Is there an unjust aggression? It seems so. How should we stop it?' Just this. Nothing more."

His comments were significant because the Vatican has vehemently opposed any military intervention in recent years, with St. John Paul II actively trying to head off the Iraq war and Francis himself staging a global prayer and fast for peace when the U.S. was threatening airstrikes on Syria last year.

But the Vatican has been increasingly showing support for military intervention in Iraq, given that Christians are being directly targeted because of their faith and that Christian communities which have existed for 2,000 years have been emptied as a result of the extremists' onslaught.

The U.S. began launching airstrikes against Islamic State fighters on Aug. 8, allowing Kurdish forces to fend off an advance on their regional capital of Irbil and to help tens of thousands of religious minorities escape.

Church teaching allows for "just wars," when military force can be justified under certain circumstances. And in recent days, a few Vatican officials have edged increasingly toward acknowledging the Iraq situation fits the bill.

Read more by clicking below:

Pope backs use of force against Islamic militants attacking religious minorities in Iraq | Fox News

Posts For Faith of the Fathers Blogs For July 21, 2014

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Lawrence of Brindisi Quote

Saints of the Faith: Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Daily Catholic Mass Readings: Catholic Mass Readings For Monday, July 21, 2014

Church Under Attack: Christian Holocaust Underway in Iraq, USA and World Look on

Faith of the Fathers: A Desperate Cry From Iraq's Christians

The Continued Plight of Egypt's Copts

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

For Egypt's Copts, the military's removal of President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood from power was nothing short of a miracle. After two and a half years in which Islamists dominated every electoral contest they faced, there was little if any hope on the horizon. Since the 25th of January revolution, Coptic despair manifested itself in an unprecedented wave of emigration from Egypt, which intensified during the Brotherhood's year in power. Following the massive demonstrations against the Brotherhood's rule and the military coup of July 3rd 2013, Copts were in a frenzied mood celebrating their deliverance; a deliverance that would prove short lived, however.

The Copts represent the Middle East's largest Christian population, and were once one of the pillars of early Christianity, with some of its early saints framing what it meant to be Christian. However, centuries of persecution and struggles for survival have left Copts a small minority in their homeland. Modernity brought new challenges to the community, though it removed the legal second-class status in which Copts lived in the Middle Ages. In recent years Copts have come under increasing pressure due to the discriminatory policies of successive governments, as well as violent attacks by their fellow citizens.

Read more by clicking below:

The Continued Plight of Egypt's Copts

Iraqi Christians Flee Violence, Fear End of Long History

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

The violence in Iraq is hastening the end of nearly 2,000 years of Christianity there as the few remaining faithful flee Islamic State militants, archbishops from Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk said on Wednesday.

War and sectarian conflict have shrunk Iraq's Christian population to about 400,000 from 1.5 million before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, and now even those who stayed are leaving for Turkey, Lebanon and western Europe, the prelates said on a visit to Brussels seeking European Union help to protect their flocks.

The three - Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Mosul Yohanna Petros Mouche and Kirkuk's Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Youssif Mirkis - are all Eastern Catholics whose churches have their own traditional liturgy but are loyal to the pope in Rome.

"The next days will be very bad. If the situation does not change, Christians will be left with just a symbolic presence in Iraq," said Sako, who is based in Baghdad. "If they leave, their history is finished."

Read more by clicking below:

Iraqi Christians Flee Violence, Fear End of Long History

Christian Exodus From Iraq Accelerating

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

• The Church in Iraq is on the brink of disappearing into obscurity, according to the country's leading bishop, who says the migration of Christians has shot up.
• Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako of Baghdad described how the rate of Christians leaving Iraq was growing and went on to raise the spectre of Christianity in Iraq coming "to an end".
• In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need given at the close of a Synod of Chaldean bishops held in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, the Patriarch said: "When I was in Turkey recently, 10 Christian families from Mosul arrived.
• "And in the space of only one week, 20 families left Alqosh, a completely Christian town not far from Mosul.
• "This is very serious. We are losing our community. If Christian life in Iraq comes to an end, this will be a hiatus in our history."
• The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, which is in full communion with Rome, said the future of Iraq's Christians is under threat: "In 10 years there will perhaps be 50,000 Christians left."

Read more by clicking below:

Christian Exodus From Iraq Accelerating

Sudanese mom sentenced to die for Christian faith is freed | Fox News

Mariam Ibrahim with her husband Daniel Wani and children Martin and Maya along with their legal team following her release on Monday. /Photo from HardwiredGlobal.org

The following excerpts are from FoxNews.com:

• Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who gave birth in a Khartoum prison after being sentenced to death in May for allegedly converting from Islam to Christianity, has been freed.
• Ibrahim, 27, refused to renounce her Christian faith in court in May, prompting a judge to sentence her to hang for apostasy. The case became an international cause, with several U.S. lawmakers and the State Department blasting the decision as barbaric. Sudan's national news service SUNA said the Court of Cassation in Khartoum on Monday canceled the death sentence after defense lawyers presented their case, and that the court ordered her release.

Read more by clicking below:

Sudanese mom sentenced to die for Christian faith is freed | Fox News

Thinking Too Highly of One's Own Righteousness

"The Pharisee and the Publican" -- by James Tissot

If there is one thing that I believe most people can't stand, it's "uppity people" who look down their noses at everyone. You know what I mean. I am talking about those people who are absolutely convinced that no one else is quite as good as them. At least that is they way in which they perceive themselves to be.

Very much like the Pharisees. they see themselves as "above" others, especially in a spiritual sense, and they believe themselves capable of judging just who is, and who is not Christian.

What they don't realize is, that by their judging of others, they tread not just on dangerous ground, but deadly ground. Jesus warned us not to judge others [Matthew 7:1], that we would be judged by the same criteria we use in judging our brothers and sisters [Matthew 7:2-3]

People make the mistake of thinking they can judge someone by how he or she looks, talks or dresses, and once again they fail to heed Jesus' warning about this as well [John 7:24] Jesus also told us we can't read the heart as God can [John 8:15], and that only He can truly judge [John 8:16].

Now when I talk about judging how someone dresses, I am not referring to those who are scantily clad, but those who's manner of dress may come from more modest means. I know of an instance of this.

This was in a church where one farmer attended every Sunday dressed in his bib overalls. Some of the people in that church complained to the pastor that the man was not dressed "good enough" to come before the Lord.

The pastor told them that he was grateful for a God who didn't look at how well they were dressed, but looked at how well they held Him in their hearts. He told them that because he knew how God looked at the heart, that he was sure that all those who held God in their hearts would be more than happy to come the next Sunday dressed in bib overalls, as he, the pastor would also do. God he said, isn't concerned with whether we attend in a $500 suit, or in bib overalls. He just wants His children to love and honor Him.

In essence, when ever you or I attempt to judge someone, we are calling them a fool for not being Christian in our eyes. We must not fail to heed the warning from Jesus about calling our brother or sister a fool [Matthew 5:22], for again we endanger ourselves.

If you or I get to the point of not just thinking, but believing that we are capable of judging another, then we have assigned ourselves the role of God, and we have also become like the pharisee who exalted himself above the publican and other sinners [Luke 18:10-14].

So, the bottom line is, do not fall into the trap of judging others.

Don't feel so smug, and satisfied in your perception of your own sanctity, that you believe you are capable of deciding who is, and who is not Christian. Only God can read the heart, certainly not you nor me.

Sudanese woman facing 'barbaric' death sentence for marrying a Christian will be FREED after U-turn from authorities | Mail Online

The following excerpts are from Daily Mail Online:

• A Sudanese woman facing down a death sentence for marrying a Christian will be freed, it has been reported.
• Meriam Ibrahim, who gave birth in prison this week, was sentenced to death for abandoning Islam, but is now set to be released in a matter of days.
• The news comes after huge international pressure was piled on the Sudanese authorities, with David Cameron, Hillary Clinton and the Archbishop of Canterbury all calling for the sentence to be dropped.
• Abdullahi Alazreg, an under-secretary at the foreign ministry, announced the decision to the BBC, saying that Sudan guaranteed religious freedom and was committed to protecting the woman.
• Mrs Ibrahim, 27, was thrown in jail in September and earlier this month was sentenced to death for apostasy and adultery for marrying Daniel Wani, a Christian Sudanese man with U.S. citizenship who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire.
• She was also sentenced to 100 lashes as the Sudanese court operating under strict Shariah law refused to recognize her 2011 marriage because her father was a Muslim.
• The judge ruled that even though Meriam’s father left her family when she was six and she was raised as a Christian, she should still worship Islam.
• Her Christian marriage was annulled and she was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and death by hanging for renouncing Islam.

Read more by clicking below:
Sudanese woman facing 'barbaric' death sentence for marrying a Christian will be FREED after U-turn from authorities | Mail Online

International outrage grows for Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy | Fox News

The following excerpts are from FoxNews.com:

• International outrage is mounting over the death sentence a Sudanese judge ordered for the pregnant wife of an American citizen — all because she refuses to renounce her Christian faith.
• Meriam Ibrahim, 26, was sentenced Thursday after being convicted of apostasy. The court in Khartoum ruled that Ibrahim must give birth and nurse her baby before being executed, but must receive 100 lashes immediately after having her baby for adultery — for having relations with her Christian husband. Ibrahim, a physician and the daughter of a Christian mother and a Muslim father who abandoned the family as a child, could have spared herself death by hanging simply by renouncing her faith.
• "We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam," Judge Abbas Khalifa told Ibrahim, according to AFP. "I sentence you to be hanged to death."
• But Ibrahim held firm to her beliefs.
• “I was never a Muslim,” she answered. “I was raised a Christian from the start.”
• Ibrahim was raised in the Christian faith by her mother, an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia. She is married to Daniel Wani, a Christian from southern Sudan who has U.S. citizenship, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Read more by clicking below:
International outrage grows for Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy | Fox News

Sudan: woman at risk of death sentence for converting to Christianity : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

The following excerpts are from CWN:

• A Sudanese court has found a 27-year-old woman guilty of apostasy and has been given until May 15 to renounce her Christian faith.
• Ahmed Bilal Osman, Sudan’s minister of culture and information, told Agence France-Presse that “it's not only Sudan. In Saudi Arabia, in all the Muslim countries, it is not allowed at all for a Muslim to change his religion.”
• Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, the daughter of a Muslim father and Christian mother, maintains that she was raised a Christian.

Read more by clicking below:
Sudan: woman at risk of death sentence for converting to Christianity : News Headlines - Catholic Culture