AUSTRALIAN   PRAYER   NETWORK   NEWSLETTER

* U.S. BISHOP REVOKES CATHOLIC STATUS OF HOSPITAL THAT
PERFORMED ABORTION
* BRITISH SURVEY REVEALS RADICALISATION OF MUSLIM YOUTH WELL
ADVANCED
* PRAYER ALERT FOR NIGERIA AS TENSIONS CONTINUE
* 25,000 ATTEND IHOP YOUNG ADULT CONFERENCE
* CAR BOMB KILLS SEVEN COPTIC CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT
* NORTH KOREAN CHRISTIANS FACE TORTURE
* VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES GRANT LAST MINUTE PERMIT FOR
CHRISTMAS EVENT
* CHRISTIANS PROHIBITED FROM CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IN
BANGLADESH
* CHRISTMAS CELEBRATED AGAIN IN INDIAN VILLAGES AFTER THREE
YEARS
* LAO OFFICIALS DESTROY RICE PADDIES AND EXPEL
CHRISTIANS

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U.S. BISHOP
REVOKES CATHOLIC STATUS OF HOSPITAL THAT PERFORMED
ABORTION
Despite a bombardment of outrage from media and leftist activist
organizations, the bishop responsible for revoking the Catholic
status of a hospital that performed an abortion says that the
backlash matters little to him, as long as he’s being faithful to the
teachings of Christ. In a press conference announcing his decision,
Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix explained that his assessment of the
situation at St. Joseph’s Hospital was supported by the doctrinal
committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in addition to
his own panel of experts, working with the National Catholic
Bioethics Centre. It had been revealed  that in late 2009, the
hospital’s staff directly killed an unborn child as a means of
remedying its mother’s pulmonary hypertension, which can be
aggravated by pregnancy. After the hospital and its parent company,
Catholic Healthcare West, refused to go back on the decision and
adhere to the U.S. Bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives (ERD)
for moral health care, Olmsted said he had a responsibility to make
it known publicly that the hospital was no longer Catholic.
Olmsted has been under fire from groups such as the American Civil
Liberties Union, whose pro-abortion chapter condemned the bishop’s
decision and accused Olmsted of “jeopardizing the health and lives of
pregnant women” by his pro-life stand. But when the bishop was
asked  what his reaction was to the mix of strong praise and derision
he has been receiving, Olmsted said, “I really don’t read the
blogospheres. I try to pray each day to find my identity in Jesus
Christ,” he said. “My identity comes from Christ. Christ is present
in His living Body the Church. That’s my identity, it comes from
that.
Source:
LifeSiteNews

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BRITISH SURVEY
REVEALS RADICALISATION OF MUSLIM YOUTH WELL ADVANCED

According to a new survey done at 30 universities in Britain, the
young Muslim student body in that country is extremely radicalized.
The poll asked 600 Muslim students and 800 of their non-Muslim peers
about politically touchy subjects like killing in the name of Islam
and Sharia Law ¢â‚¬”and the results were like night and day between the
two demographics. While hardly anyone in the non-Muslim sample
accepted killing in the name of religion, basically one-third of all
Muslim students in Britain supported this.

This frightening confirmation of the deadly and violent extremism in
the young Muslims of Britain is also an indication of the utter
failure of British society to both integrate as well as to better
police their Muslim communities. The word “Londonistan” is often
disparagingly used to symbolize the permissible Islamic extremism
that goes down in Britain ¢â‚¬”with the once-proud but now impotent Brits
basically turning a blind eye. In fact, because of this widespread
radicalization problem in British universities among Muslims, said
universities are actually becoming a training ground for terrorists.

The  survey and its shocking  results were made available only through
the Wikileaks leaking of Julian Assange. The poll was revealed as
part of a secret, diplomatic cable that emerged from the US Embassy
in London. Other results in the pro-Islamist survey results are also
troublesome. For instance, more than half of all British Muslim
students insist on being represented by a political party that is
Islam-based. The clear-cut, overwhelming theme in this poll data from
this leaked cable relates to the fact that many Muslims even in
so-called civilized countries like Britain  want to  make Islam central
in all aspects of their  lives.

Source: Vancouver
Examiner

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PRAYER ALERT FOR
NIGERIA AS TENSIONS CONTINUE

More than 30 people were killed and another 74 injured when five
bombs exploded in the Nigerian city of Jos on Christmas Eve.  Although
no group has taken credit for the blasts, authorities received
threatening letters from radical Muslims in the weeks leading up to
Christmas. Jos is located on the invisible line dividing Northern
Nigeria (mostly Muslim) from Southern Nigeria (most Christian).  More
than 13,500 people have died in Nigeria in religious and ethnic
clashes since the end of military rule in 1999.

Elsewhere tensions have risen amongst the Christian community in
northern Nigeria, following the killing of a   pastor and five other
Christians there, also on Christmas Eve. Many Christians have taken
refuge to avoid further attacks as soldiers and police keep watch at
churches and other strategic locations in the state. The state
Governor noted that the attack on the Christian community was an
attempt by perpetrators to create conflict between Christians and
Muslims in the state. He admitted a “lapse in security” and said the
task force assigned to peacekeeping  had failed to perform as
expected.

Please pray for:
*   the restoration of peace in the areas of Nigeria   where Christians
and Muslims are in conflict. Pray for the fear of the Lord to fall on
this region. Pray for the government to intervene and do all that is
necessary to provide for the safety of Christians.
*   Christians to be comforted and strengthened as they share in the
sufferings of Christ. Ask the Lord to be their refuge and fortress,
giving His angels charge over them and protecting them on every
side.   Pray for the Kingdom of God to come, His will be done in
Nigeria, as it is in heaven.
*   Christians to forgive those who are persecuting them, pray for
their enemies, and display the love of God to them. Pray for Muslims
to see Jesus Christ in the words and actions of Christian Believers.
Petition the Lord release  those ensnared by false religions and
terrorism into a relationship with His Only Son, Jesus Christ as
Saviour and Lord.

Source: Windows International
Network

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25,000 ATTEND IHOP
YOUNG ADULT CONFERENCE

The International House of Prayer ¢â‚¬â„¢s (IHOP) Young Adult Conference was
all about one thing -  Jesus. Dubbed onething, the annual worship and
teaching conference drew 25,000 young adults to Kansas City
Convention Centre last month. Mike Bickle, conference founder and
director of IHOP said    ¢â‚¬Å“We are in the early days of seeing sweeping
changes that will confront the status quo in the Church and in
society. It is in these strategic moments that the disciples of Jesus
will become the hinge of history, that pivotal point that determines
which way the door will swing. ¢â‚¬ 
Onething aims to help train and equip a generation to live the Gospel
of Jesus Christ and to love God and people with all their hearts.
Young people came from across America and over 50 countries,
including South Korea, China, New Zealand, and many European and
South American nations.  ¢â‚¬Å“Right now, we stand at a critical juncture
in history, ¢â‚¬  Bickle says.  ¢â‚¬Å“All across the earth, the Holy Spirit
is  raising up a generation consumed with God ¢â‚¬â„¢s zeal. Zeal to see the
fame of Jesus ¢â‚¬â„¢ name go forth in the earth. Zeal to see revival in the
Church. Zeal to see justice established. Zeal to see a great harvest
of souls. ¢â‚¬ 
IHOP is an evangelical missions organization based on 24/7 prayer
with worship that is engaged in evangelism, healing the sick, inner
city outreach, multiple justice initiatives, planting houses of
prayer, and training missionaries. IHOP has continued in non-stop
prayer led by worship teams since September 19, 1999, and is
committed to combining 24/7 prayers for justice with 24/7 works of
justice. IHOP offers full-time training in Bible, music and media
schools.

Source: Charisma
Magazine

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CAR BOMB KILLS
SEVEN COPTIC CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT

A  car bomb explosion outside a church in the north Egyptian city of
Alexandria has killed seven people and injured 24. The blast,
apparently caused by a car bomb, hit people as they left a new year’s
service at the al-Qidiseen church shortly after midnight. Sectarian
tensions have recently been on the rise in Egypt. The  mayor of
Alexandria, Gen Adel Labib, said on Egyptian TV that there had been
recent threats of attacks on churches. A local priest said the
death-toll from the blast would have been much higher had the
explosion happened minutes later, after more people had left the
service.
After the explosion, Christians were seen chanting beside a burnt-out
car in front of the church:  ¢â‚¬Å“We sacrifice our souls and blood for the
Cross. ¢â‚¬  Coptic Christians make up about 10% of Egypt’s predominantly
Muslim population. The rise of political Islam and the failure of the
government to address Coptic claims of discrimination have fuelled
divisions. Alexandria,   with a population of about four million, has
seen sectarian violence in the past.  ¢â‚¬Å“In 2006, there were days of
clashes between Copts and Muslims after a Copt was stabbed to death
during a knife attack on three of the city’s churches.

Source: Assist
Ministries

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NORTH KOREAN
CHRISTIANS FACE TORTURE

A U.S federal commission said North Korean refugees suspected of
meeting with religious groups are often marked for torture and long
detentions without trial after they are forced by China to return to
the North. The report  called for nations to press China to stop
sending North Korean refugees back to their homeland. “Diplomatic
efforts to  address human security in North Korea should not diminish”
the report said.   The report is based on interviews with 32 refugees
who fled North Korea to China  and with six former North Korean
security agents who defected to South Korea during the past eight
years.
Interviews with the former security agents,  showed that mistreatment
of anyone suspected of conducting clandestine religious activity in
North Korea is an officially approved policy and, thus, likely to
continue, particularly as cross-border contact with China increases.
“The report found that, despite repression and anti-religious
propaganda, “remnants” of traditional folk beliefs, Buddhism and
Christianity continue in the North. But it said Christianity and
Buddhism have been thoroughly repressed and “reduced largely to
clandestine worship at what are largely religious tourist
attractions”.
Source: Council for World
Mission

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VIETNAMESE
AUTHORITIES GRANT LAST MINUTE PERMIT FOR CHRISTMAS
EVENT

Granted permission only 5 hours before a scheduled Christmas event,
house church leaders turned an empty field into a   stadium and
welcomed some 20,000 people for worship on Sunday December  26. The
government ¢â‚¬â„¢s Bureau of Religious Affairs (BRA) gave permission for
the event to the  Vietnam Assemblies of God organization, which
represents a large grouping of mostly unregistered house churches. By
11am on Christmas Day, in spite of official promises, the required
permission papers had not been granted. Finally at 5PM a verbal
go-ahead was given with a promise of a written permit.
This left them  24 hours to build a perimeter fence, bring in
electricity, water and toilets, set up chairs, erect a stage, and
install the sound and lighting systems.The next morning however,
authorities informed  them that the permission was only to provide
a  venue where the people could come so organizers could explain,
apologize and send them home. A leader protested  to the BRA, and just
five hours before the event was scheduled to start, the BRA issued
written permission for a gathering of 5,000 people. As it happened
20,000 turned up with an estimated 2,000 people making a first-time
decision to follow Christ.
Source: Compass Direct
News

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CHRISTIANS
PROHIBITED FROM CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IN BANGLADESH

One of the main political parties of the indigenous people in
Bangladesh ¢â‚¬â„¢s south-eastern hill tracts prevented Christians from
celebrating Christmas. The United People ¢â‚¬â„¢s Democratic Front (UPDF),
which has demanded that Christian converts return to Buddhism,
threatened tribal Christians of at least seven churches in
Khagrachari district, some 300 kilometres  southeast of the
Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.  A local leader of the UPDF, a regional
party seeking autonomy, warned Christians not to hold a Christmas
gathering. Members of Kalapani Bethlehem Church were told they could
not even worship silently.
Chotopanchari Baptist Church were also unable to celebrate Christmas
after receiving a threat from UPDF members. Five tribal people who
are members of UPDF on December 19 called a meeting of 50 Buddhists
and seven Christians, including the Baptist church pastor.  They
threatened the Christians, telling them not to celebrate Christmas in
the village and not to do any other Christian activities.  The pastor
was warned not to take care of the congregation and was ordered to go
back to his previous religion, Buddhism.”
Source: Compass Direct
News

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CHRISTMAS
CELEBRATED AGAIN IN INDIAN VILLAGES AFTER THREE
YEARS

Bodimunda village in Kandhamal, Orissa, India, have celebrated
Christmas for the first time in three years. And a short distance
away in Barakhama village a strong police posse kept watch as 2,000
Christians prayed just near where  death and mass destruction had
taken place in December 2007  and again in  August 2008. Christmas will
never be the same ever again in this part of Orissa which at the peak
of the violence saw 54,000 internally displaced Christians ¢â‚¬”over
30,000 of them in government refugee camps and the rest in forests or
far away from home.
But the people would not be denied celebrating the birth of
Christ ¢â‚¬”many of them had faced death when asked to leave their faith,
drink some cow urine and become Hindus if they wanted to live in
their villages. Midnight Mass had become a memory, but this time two
Catholic priests, a religious brother, the head of the Mother Teresa
Sisters in Orissa and their friends decided to challenge the fear  of
the dreaded Lambodhar Kahar and celebrated the Christian festival as
it should be.”
Source: ASSIST News
Service

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LAO OFFICIALS
DESTROY RICE PADDIES AND EXPEL CHRISTIANS

Officials of Katin village have destroyed rice paddies farmed by 18
Christian families previously living in the village. Water
was  drained  from the rice paddies,  fencing that protected the crop
from animals burnt,  and new seedlings stamped on to ensure the rice
would not grow, advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious
Freedom reported. Earlier the   village chief and other authorities
armed with guns had entered the homes of the Christians  and ordered
them to give up their faith. When they refused, officials marched
them out of the village and warned them they would be shot if
they  returned.
Source: Compass Direct
News