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Pope Francis said on Thursday in Kenya, which has seen a spate of attacks by Islamist militants, that dialogue between religions in Africa was essential to teach young people that violence in God's name was unjustified. Bridging divisions between Muslims and Christians is a main theme of his first tour of the continent that also takes him to Uganda, which like Kenya has seen a number of Islamist attacks, and the Central African Republic, riven by sectarian conflict. Starting his first full day in the Kenyan capital, Francis met Muslim and other religious leaders before saying an open-air Mass for tens of thousands of rain-drenched people who sang, danced and ululated as he arrived in an open popemobile. "All too often, young people are being radicalized in the name of religion to sow discord and fear, and to tear at the very fabric of our societies," he told about 25 religious leaders. Inter-religious dialogue "is not a luxury.
It is not something extra or optional, but essential," he told them, stressing that God's name "must never be used to justify hatred and violence." He referred to Somalia's al Shabaab Islamists' 2013 attack on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall and this year's assault on Marissa university. Hundreds of people have been killed in the past two years or so, with Christians sometimes singled out by gunmen. The chairman of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, Abdulghafur El-Busaidy, called for cooperation and tolerance. "As people of one God and of this world, we must stand up and in unison," he told the pope. Francis's African tour is also seeking to address the continent's fast-growing Catholic population, with the number of African Catholics expected to reach half a billion by 2050. A third of Kenya's 45 million people are Catholics.
Tens of thousands of them gathered in pouring rain from before dawn to attend the pope's open-air Mass in central Nairobi. In his homily at the Mass, Francis urged the faithful "to resist practices which foster arrogance in men," speaking in a nation rattled by a series of corruption scandals. President Uhuru Kenyatta, a Catholic who attended Mass, reshuffled his cabinet this week after several ministers resigned over graft allegations. Giving his address in a sodden sports field at Nairobi University, the pope urged young people on a continent with a large young population to resist the "new deserts created by a culture of materialism and indifference" and build a more just society. Purity Wanjiku, a 24-year-old, standing in a sea of people sheltering under umbrellas before Mass, said she wanted the pope "to talk to young people and tell them especially to spread the word of peace and also give us hope." Thousands of police officers, some mounted on horses, were deployed in Nairobi to protect the pope and control the crowds.
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Pope Francis steps onto African soil for the first time on Wednesday to address the continent's fast-growing Catholic congregation during a trip that will test his ability to bridge faultlines between Christians and Muslims. The Nov. 25-30 tour starts in Kenya and Uganda, which have both seen Islamist militant attacks, before he travels to the Central African Republic, a nation torn by Muslim-Christian strife. He is due to arrive in Nairobi at about 5 p.m. (1400 GMT). "We are living at a time when religious believers, and persons of goodwill everywhere are called to foster mutual understanding and respect, and to support each other as members of our one human family," the pope said in a pre-trip message.
Millions of Christians - Catholics and others - are expected to turn out in welcome and for public celebrations of Mass, presenting a challenge for national security forces to keep the pontiff safe and control the huge crowds. Africa's Catholic church is growing fast with an estimated 200 million adherents in 2012, a figure expected to reach half a billion in 2050. In Kenya, about 30 percent of the 45 million population are baptized Catholics, including President Uhuru Kenyatta. "We are ready to receive him," Kenya's inspector general of police, Joseph Boinnet, told reporters. "Security arrangements have been put in place, right from arrival." He did not say how many police would be deployed in the capital for the visit, which includes Mass at the University of Nairobi on Thursday, now declared a national holiday.
Kenyan media has said at least 10,000 officers would be involved. Kenya has been targeted by a spate of attacks by Somalia's Islamist group al Shabaab in the past two years that have killed hundreds of people. In 2013, an assault by al Shabaab gunmen on a Nairobi shopping mall killed 67 people. He will also seek to heal ethnic rifts that have long plagued Kenya. "Pope Francis' visit to Kenya will be focused on inclusivity and reconciliation in relation to ethnic and religious tolerance, peace and stability," Kenyan presidential spokesman Manoah Esipisu said. The pope visits the Nairobi headquarters of the United Nations on Thursday and is expected to address climate issues.
In Uganda, where police said they would deploy 12,000 officers for the visit, the pope holds Mass on Saturday and then addresses young people on a continent that has a big youth belt. Potentially the most hazardous stop of his trip is the third leg to the Central African Republic. Dozens of people have been killed there since September in violence between Muslim Seleka rebels and Christian anti-balaka militias. His schedule in Bangui, the capital, includes a visit to a mosque in one of the most dangerous districts. French officials have hinted heavily that the Vatican should consider scrapping the Bangui leg of his trip or at least scaling it back.
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T.B. Joshua has made scores of vague predictions about world events, including the Paris attacks, which he then presented as prophecies delivered to him by the Holy Spirit
T.B. Joshua is a powerful Nigerian evangelical preacher who runs a multi-million dollar ministry. Joshua, 52, operates satellite ministries in half a dozen countries on two continents, and runs a twenty-four-hour cable TV channel, broadcast in three languages. To many of his followers, he’s also a prophet. One day after ISIS terrorists murdered 130 people in Paris, Joshua’s ministry made a bold claim: He predicted the November 13 attacks back in 2013.
In a televised sermon, Joshua proclaimed that the people of France “should pray against suicide bombers or an attack of any kind that will affect many.” Within 24 hours of the attacks, video of Joshua’s “prophecy” was posted to his ministry’s YouTube channel with the title “Terrorist Attacks in Paris!!! | TB Joshua Prophecy.” The post’s caption says the sermon was delivered in January of 2013, and predicted the Paris massacre. It’s been watched over 134,000 times on YouTube, and thousands more times on his Facebook page, which has 1.7 million followers.
Self-proclaimed prophets declaring they predicted some earth-shattering event is nothing new. Nor is it particularly uncommon. But Joshua stands out because of his enormous following and powerful friends. In 2012, Joshua was named one of the “50 Most Influential Africans” by the magazine The Africa Report. The magazine listed “Ghana’s President John Atta Mills, Zimbabwe’s prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Nigeria’s first lady Patience Jonathan” as “a few of the political heavyweights who have patronised his church.” Winnie Mandela, ex-wife of the late South African President Nelson Mandela, also reportedly attended Joshua’s church, which is called Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN).
Joshua has also been controversial, though. He has been criticized for, among other things, his claims to heal disease, and the way he runs his church. In an April 2014 profile of Joshua, the Associated Press reported, “He is… accused of taking advantage of his followers and tightly controlling those closest to him, who call him ‘Daddy.’” Neither Joshua nor SCOAN responded to press request from international broadcasting channels for an interview.
Joshua has made scores of vague predictions about world events, which he and SCOAN have then presented as prophecies delivered to him by his “source,” the Holy Spirit, after a tragedy appeared to resemble something he’d said in one of his sermons. After a January 2013 sermon during which he said “I am seeing flame” in America, he claimed he predicted the Boston Marathon bombings. In January of 2009, Joshua started predicting the death of “a great star.” When Michael Jackson died about six months later, Joshua claimed that’s what he’d meant. He also claims to have predicted the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The YouTube video showing that supposed prediction amassed more than one million views and earned Joshua some mention in British tabloids.
This latest claim, too, relies heavily on vagueness and the benefits of hindsight; in the video, Joshua doesn’t say when the attacks will occur, or offer specifics other than that they will be suicide attacks. And the only evidence that the supposed prediction was given in 2013 is the caption on the recently posted YouTube video.
The media attention generated by Joshua’s predictions doesn’t appear to be hurting the church or its finances. As of 2014 it had branches in London, Greece, Ghana and several other countries. A web-based TV station spreading Joshua’s message, Emmanuel TV, is broadcast in three languages. In 2011, a contributor with Forbes’ website included Joshua on a list of the five richest pastors in Nigeria, estimating his net worth at between $10 million and $15 million. In September, SaharaReports, a website covering Africa, reported that Joshua owned a Gulfstream G550 Private Jet, which generally sells for tens of millions of dollars. (Joshua denied owning the jet, and said that he instead charters private jets “because he travels extensively,” according to SaharaReports.)
Joshua’s purported skills do not end at prophecy. Joshua also claims to cure deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS and cancer. A 2013 video on his YouTube channel shows what it says is testimony from a couple cured of HIV by Joshua. “Mr & Mrs Davidson were both infected with the deadly disease HIV/AIDS,” the caption reads. “After receiving prayer from T.B. Joshua, in the name of Jesus Christ, they are now free.”
In 2011, three women in London died after health officials said they were encouraged by evangelical preachers to stop taking antiretroviral medication used to treat their HIV and to instead rely on God. A BBC report about the deaths identified one of those preachers as Joshua.
In 2014, Joshua again garnered unwanted headlines after a building in Lagos belonging to his ministry collapsed, killing 116 people, most of whom were congregants visiting from South Africa, according to the AP. This summer, the coroner in the case accused Joshua’s ministry and two engineers of criminal negligence. No charges have been filed. Joshua and SCOAN have claimed the building was destroyed through sabotage, saying a “mysterious” plane flew over it shortly before its collapse, and that the plane was likely connected to Islamic extremists like Boko Haram. Despite the negligence allegations, the church claims some type of infrasonic weapon was used to level the building.
“Those sounds are bombarded on the building, the building tended to resonate. In every structure there are atoms and once those atoms are excited, they begin to shake, and that is how we concluded the building came down,” church spokeswoman Kirsten Nematandani said in September.
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While addressing the ordinary Synod of Bishops on the family, the Cardinal of Mali, His Eminence Robert Sarah again reminded us of homosexuality being a western agenda and that what comes from the Enemy cannot and must not be assimilated. Echoing the position of the Church of God as well as that of great African leaders, he paraphrased and established the truth in three assemblage: 1. More transparency and respect among us, 2. Discernment of history and of spirits and 3. Proclaim and serve the beauty of Monogamy and the Family.
Intervention of Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Your Holiness, Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, participants of the Synod,
I propose these three thoughts:
1. More transparency and respect among us
I feel a strong need to invoke the Spirit of Truth and Love, the source of parrhesia in speaking and humility in listening, who alone is capable of creating true harmony in plurality. I say frankly that in the previous Synod, on various issues one sensed the temptation to yield to the mentality of the secularized world and individualistic West. Recognizing the so-called “realities of life” as a locus theologicus means giving up hope in the transforming power of faith and the Gospel. The Gospel that once transformed cultures is now in danger of being transformed by them. Furthermore, some of the procedures used did not seem aimed at enriching discussion and communion as much as they did to promote a way of seeing typical of certain fringe groups of the wealthiest churches. This is contrary to a poor Church, a joyously evangelical and prophetic sign of contradiction to worldliness. Nor does one understand why some statements that are not shared by the qualified majority of the last Synod still ended up in the Relatio and then in the Lineamenta and the Instrumentum laboris when other pressing and very current issues (such as gender ideology) are instead ignored.
The first hope is therefore that, in our work, there by more freedom, transparency and objectivity. For this, it would be beneficial to publish the summaries of the interventions, to facilitate discussion and avoid any prejudice or discrimination in accepting the pronouncements of the synod Fathers.
2. Discernment of history and of spirits
A second hope: that the Synod honor its historic mission and not limit itself to speaking only about certain pastoral issues (such as the possible communion for divorced and remarried) but help the Holy Father to enunciate clearly truths and real guidance on a global level. For there are new challenges with respect to the synod celebrated in 1980. A theological discernment enables us to see in our time two unexpected threats (almost like two “apocalyptic beasts”) located on opposite poles: on the one hand, the idolatry of Western freedom; on the other, Islamic fundamentalism: atheistic secularism versus religious fanaticism. To use a slogan, we find ourselves between “gender ideology and ISIS”. Islamic massacres and libertarian demands regularly contend for the front page of the newspapers. (Let us remember what happened last June 26!). From these two radicalizations arise the two major threats to the family: its subjectivist disintegration in the secularized West through quick and easy divorce, abortion, homosexual unions, euthanasia etc. (cf. Gender theory, the ‘Femen’, the LGBT lobby, IPPF ...). On the other hand, the pseudo-family of ideologized Islam which legitimizes polygamy, female subservience, sexual slavery, child marriage etc. (cf. Al Qaeda, Isis, Boko Haram ...)
Several clues enable us to intuit the same demonic origin of these two movements. Unlike the Spirit of Truth that promotes communion in the distinction (perichoresis), these encourage confusion (homo-gamy) or subordination (poly-gamy). Furthermore, they demand a universal and totalitarian rule, are violently intolerant, destroyers of families, society and the Church, and are openly Christianophobic.
“We are not contending against creatures of flesh and blood ....” We need to be inclusive and welcoming to all that is human; but what comes from the Enemy cannot and must not be assimilated. You can not join Christ and Belial! What Nazi-Fascism and Communism were in the 20th century, Western homosexual and abortion Ideologies and Islamic Fanaticism are today.
3. Proclaim and serve the beauty of Monogamy and the Family
Faced with these two deadly and unprecedented challenges (“homo-gamy” and “poly-gamy”) the Church must promote a true “epiphany of the Family.” To this both the Pope (as spokesman of the Church) may contribute, and individual Bishops and Pastors of the Christian flock: that is, “the Church of God, which he has obtained with his own blood” (Acts: 20:28).
We must proclaim the truth without fear, i.e. the Plan of God, which is monogamy in conjugal love open to life. Bearing in mind the historical situation just recalled, it is urgent that the Church, at its summit, definitively declare the will of the Creator for marriage. How many people of good will and common sense would join in this luminous act of courage carried out by the Church!
Together with a strong and clear Word of the Supreme Magisterium, Pastors have the mission of helping our contemporaries to discover the beauty of the Christian family. To do this, it must first promote all that represents a true Christian Initiation of adults, for the marriage crisis is essentially a crisis of God, but also a crisis of faith, and this is an infantile Christian initiation. Then we must discern those realities that the Holy Spirit is already raising up to reveal the Truth of the Family as an intimate communion in diversity (man and woman) that is generous in the gift of life. We bishops have the urgent duty to recognize and promote the charisms, movements, and ecclesial realities in which the Family is truly revealed, this prodigy of harmony, love of life and hope in Eternity, this cradle of faith and school charity. And there are so many realities offered by Providence, together with the Second Vatican Council, in which this miracle is offered.
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African gays who often face persecution in the streets and sometimes prosecution in courts have a simple plea for Pope Francis ahead of his first visit to the continent: bring a message of tolerance even if you will not bless our sexuality.
Francis travels to Kenya and Uganda, where many conservative Christians bristle at the idea of the West forcing its morality on them, especially when it comes to gays and lesbians. He also visits conflict-torn Central African Republic on a tour that starts on Nov. 25.
While Francis has not changed Catholic dogma on homosexuality and has reaffirmed the church's opposition to same-sex marriage, his more inclusive approach has cheered many gay Catholics while annoying conservatives.
"I would like the Pope to at least make people know that being LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) is not a curse," said Jackson Mukasa, 20, a Ugandan in Kampala who was imprisoned last year on suspicion of committing homosexual acts, before charges were dropped for lack of evidence.
"Being a gay in Uganda is a challenge. You expect mob justice, you expect to be killed, you expect to be arrested," said Mukasa, who also goes by the name Princess Rihanna.
Homosexuality or the act of gay sex is outlawed in most of Africa's 54 states. South Africa is the only African nation that permits gay or lesbian marriage. The Catholic church holds that being gay is not a sin but homosexual acts are.
Uganda, which is about 40 percent Catholic, has been seen as a bastion of anti-gay sentiment since 2013, when it sought to toughen penalties, with some lawmakers pushing for the death penalty or life in prison for some actions involving gay sex.
The law was overturned on procedural grounds, but not before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry compared it to anti-Semitic legislation in Nazi Germany. Other Western donors were outraged.
Frank Mugisha, director of Sexual Minorities Uganda and one of the country's most outspoken advocates for gay rights, said he hoped the Pope would bring a message that gays and lesbians should be "treated like any other children of God."
"If he starts talking about rights, then Ugandans are going to be very defensive," said Mugisha, a Catholic. "But I would think if the Pope was here and talking about love, compassion and equality for everyone, Ugandans will listen."
A government spokesman, Shaban Bantariza, said: "We hope the Pope's message will not diverge from the core beliefs of Ugandans."
"We don't view homosexuality as a normal lifestyle but also we have chosen not to persecute those who have fallen victim to it," he said.
While gays feel ostracized by the Catholic church's teachings, Africa's evangelical protestant preachers are often among the most strident opponents of homosexuality.
"LOVE EVERYONE"
The lightning progress of gay rights in much of America and Europe, where same-sex couples can marry and adopt children, has encouraged gay Africans but hardened attitudes of those who object to the idea on religious grounds.
U.S. President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, likened discrimination against gays to racism, speaking during a visit to Kenya, where about a third of the population is Catholic.
Francis' ascent to the papacy in 2013, replacing the more conservative Pope Benedict, has heartened gay Africans. They welcomed Francis' comment early in his papacy that: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?"
Although many Kenyan Christians are deeply conservative, the country has been comparatively tolerant and now hosts about 500 gay refugees from neighboring Uganda. Kenyan law calls for jailing those involved in homosexual acts but rarely prosecutes.
David Kuria, a well-known Kenyan gay rights activist, did not hesitate when asked about the message he would give to the pope ahead of the visit.
Recalling that his mother, a devout Catholic, was kicked out of her village prayer group because she had raised a gay son, he said he would say that parents of gays should not be victimised or made to "doubt themselves as parents or as Christians".
"I hope the Pope would say, 'Love everyone,' especially those who are still coming to church."
Read more at Reutershttp://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/22/us-pope-africa-gay-idUSKCN0TB06020151122#iWfloiuAChb1AfpX.99
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Christians of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC, Bastos congregation in Yaounde on Sunday, November 14, 2015, celebrated the 58th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church Day and the 30th anniversary of the congregation. In his sermon, the Parish Pastor, Rev. Emmanuel B. Masok, likened the autonomy of the PCC from the Basel Mission to the parable of the mustard seed in the Bible.
Drawing from Mark Chapter 4:30-32, Rev. Masok said the kingdom of God is like mustard that grows from obscurity to a big tree. In his message, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, called on Presbyterian Christians to be transformed transformers. Other activities of the day included the cutting of the anniversary cake, Sunday School and Young Presbyterians presentations and award of prizes. A special week of intercessory prayers for the nation was announced from November 16-22, 2015.
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