A ministry of HCJB World Radio

Today’s News Headlines:

GUNMEN KILL PRIEST IN PAKISTAN AFTER SCHOOL IS RETURNED TO PARISH VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS ORDER DEMOLITION OF DAMAGED CHURCH BUILDING POPE WARNS AGAINST LOSS OF CHRISTIAN HERITAGE IN EUROPE BIBLE LEAGUE TO OPEN OFFICE IN SRI LANKA AS PEACE SPREADS ZAMBIA PROVIDES HAVEN FOR REFUGEES, LEADERSHIP TRAINING BRAZILIANS TRAINED TO BE MISSIONARIES AT HOME AND ABROAD

Today’s News Stories:

GUNMEN KILL PRIEST IN PAKISTAN AFTER SCHOOL IS RETURNED TO PARISH Six gunmen shot and killed a Roman Catholic priest at his home in eastern Pakistan in the early hours of Saturday, July 5. George Ibrahim, 38, was gunned down at about 1 a.m. while sleeping in his home near Okara, 180 miles south of Islamabad in Punjab province. Archbishop of Lahore Lawrence Saldanha said the “main motive” for the priest’s murder appeared to be the government’s decision last fall to return ownership of a former church school to Ibrahim’s Catholic parish after 30 years under state management. In 1972 the government nationalized Christian Urdu-language schools without compensation and imposed state management. But 20 years later the Supreme Court declared the forced nationalization unconstitutional, and private school owners began filing for restoration of the institutions — a process which government-employed school administrators and teachers have actively resisted. “The Christian community feels deeply disturbed at this cold-blooded attack on a priest who had devoted his life to the selfless service of the poor and downtrodden,” Saldanha said in a written statement. At press time no arrests or claims of responsibility had been reported. (Compass Direct)

VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS ORDER DEMOLITION OF DAMAGED CHURCH BUILDING Police have been ordered to “completely dismantle” what is left of the Thu Thiem Evangelical Church in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, by July 12. Authorities began harassing the church in July 2000, destroying part of the building and making it difficult for the believers to meet in the facility. However, the congregation continued to meet in the open air on the remains of the floor of the building. Last month police were sent to surround the area to prevent the believers from meeting, and for the last four weeks no meetings were held. On Sunday, July 6, pastor Truong Van Nganh called the people back together, and 140 believers attended the service. Many police surrounded the group, and some plainclothes officers reportedly infiltrated the meeting. Nganh is urging Christians worldwide to intercede for the believers to stand firm for Christ and continue their Christian worship and outreach. (Voice of the Martyrs)

POPE WARNS AGAINST LOSS OF CHRISTIAN HERITAGE IN EUROPE Appealing anew to the European Union to give formal recognition to the continent’s Christian roots, Pope John Paul II has warned that the “loss of Europe’s Christian memory and heritage” has serious consequences for society. The Roman Catholic pontiff said that growing secularism in Europe is causing a “kind of fear of the future” which he blamed for a falling birth rate, a decline in religious vocations and rejection of marriage. The pope’s appeal was contained in a statement responding to concerns expressed by Europe’s bishops at a meeting known as a synod. John Paul signed the document Saturday. Secretary general of the Synod of Bishops acknowledged at a news conference that the release of the document was timed to coincide with discussion of a new European Union constitution. The Vatican was dismayed when a first draft of the preamble said that Europe was nourished by “Hellenic and Roman civilizations” and the “philosophical currents of the Enlightenment” but not specifically by Christianity. “I would like to mention in a particular way the loss of Europe’s Christian memory and heritage, accompanied by a kind of practical agnosticism and religious indifference,” the pope wrote. “It is no real surprise, then, that there are efforts to create a vision of Europe which ignores its religious heritage.” (Religion Today)

BIBLE LEAGUE TO OPEN OFFICE IN SRI LANKA AS PEACE SPREADS After years of effective ministry in neighboring India, the Bible League (TBL) has opened its first office in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist nation off the Indian coast. Sri Lanka that has devastated by war for years. “Sri Lanka has experienced tremendous upheaval and is now on the brink of peace,” says Dan Eastep, TBL’s director for India. “The time is right to share the gospel of peace — with effective follow-up — in this country which is crying out for hope.” Until now the country’s civil war has hampered efforts by the ministry to open an office in Sri Lanka. The decision to start an office also has hinged on finding the right person to lead it. Christy Balandren of Sri Lanka has been appointed to head up the new office. Eastep says that despite continuing unrest, the ministry is moving ahead. “The tremendous conflict in Sri Lanka cannot be understated,” he says. “It has been gruesome, but now the opportunity is there politically and spiritually. Everything has fallen into place. Our hope is that God’s Word will be a catalyst to bring lasting peace and reconciliation. To a nation like this, the gospel can be very meaningful.” (The Bible League)

ZAMBIA PROVIDES HAVEN FOR REFUGEES, LEADERSHIP TRAINING Zambia, a country that shares a border with war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, is a natural haven for refugees and a safe place to train Christian leaders. Rody Rodeheaver of the Inter-National Needs Network says many people are trained through the ministry’s Zambian Agricultural Crafts and Theological Studies Institute. “One of the things that we’ve attempted to do is to take our students at the ZACTS Institute and train them to go into this refugee camp, and they hold services in a number of those ‘villages’ that are inside that refugee camp, and are sharing the gospel and bringing hope.” Rodeheaver adds that the scale of the tragedy is immense, and urges believers to act on the needs. “I think this camp has more than 1 million people. They’re being overwhelmed with both the medical problems as well as just the feeding and bringing the food supplies into these people.” (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio airs Bemba programs on Zambia’s Radio One Network, covering the country with broadcasts that go out on shortwave, AM and FM.

BRAZILIANS TRAINED TO BE MISSIONARIES AT HOME AND ABROAD In spite of nearly flat economic growth and a growing poverty rate, Brazilian pastors and missionaries remain determined to get essential training. OC International’s Dick Duncan says the ministry is making sure the tools are available. “We provide information, training and follow-up so that they will have the kinds of tools they need. We don’t tend to repeat what seminaries do; we tend to be very practical, giving them tools that might be about how to develop a small group ministry, or do spiritual warfare, or counseling, or preach better.” Duncan says the challenge faced by believers creates a vibrant church. “Brazilians are among the most flexible, creative people in the world, and they make it work. They come up with resources or a new way of doing things so they do get the training they need. Clearly for the Brazilian missions movement, going out to other countries, it has been an additional challenge. but even so, Brazilians are making those sacrifices and getting missionaries over to other countries.” (Mission Network News)

James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio

Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org