Faith of the Fathers

Saturday, September 08, 2012

The following excerpt is from Fox News.com:

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was originally sentenced to death in his native country for his Christian faith, was acquitted of apostasy charges and released from custody.
Nadarkhani, 32, was imprisoned for three years and waiting execution for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. His charges were lowered to evangelizing to Muslims, which carried a three-year sentence. He was released with time served, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington-based watchdog group that had been campaigning for the pastor's release.
"Today our sources in Iran reported that Pastor Youcef was acquitted of apostasy and released from prison. After languishing in prison for almost three years, he has been reunited with his family," Jordan Sekulow, executive director of ACLJ said in a statement to FoxNews.com.

The following excerpts are from The Diocese of Charlotte's Catholic News Herald:

CHARLOTTE — A solemn Holy Hour concluded three days – 80 hours – of continuous Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick Cathedral to coincide with the Democratic National Convention Sept. 3-6. More than 100 people from Charlotte-area parishes participated in the "Vigil for Liberty," held to pray for religious freedom, protection of the right to life, and an increase in vocations.
Each day of the vigil, worshippers prayed the Chaplet of Adoration and Reparation, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Holy Rosary.
In his Holy Hour homily, Father Christopher Roux, pastor and rector of the cathedral parish, called out Catholics who are apathetic about their faith and encouraged all of us to embrace the Cross like we really mean it.
"Either be hot or cold. Be one or the other. Don't be apathetic. Don't be wishy-washy," Father Roux said.

The networks skipped the closing prayer of the DNC in Charlotte. Here is Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivering the prayer.

The following excerpts are from CNA (Catholic News Agency):

Rome, Italy, Sep 6, 2012 / 01:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Italian Jesuit who was exiled from Syria after criticizing President Bashar al-Assad says he is still hopeful for the country’s future despite its descent into war.
“I see hope in the fact that the Syrian people are very attached to their country, very attached to the fact that they are a mosaic country. People want to keep that. They are committed to pluralism,” said Jesuit Father Paolo Dall’Oglio in an interview with CNA.
Fr. Dall'Oglio spent over 30 years in Syria as part of the Deir Mar Musa Monastic Community. Throughout that time he was a champion for interfaith dialogue in the majority-Muslim country, where Christians make up around 10 percent of the population.
Since being exiled, he has watched in horror as fighting has spread throughout Syria.