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Susan Korah

Susan Korah

Different kinds of persecution are top of mind in political and media circles, but what receives little attention is Christian persecution, said John McKay.

“Nothing is more damning than indifference in the face of violence,” Anu George Canjanathoppil told today’s 59th annual National Prayer Breakfast.

In an electrifying speech that led to several rounds of applause and a prolonged standing ovation, the keynote speaker and CEO of International Justice Mission made an impassioned plea before 1,300 gathered for protection and justice for the victims of human trafficking in a world where war and conflict are rampant.

As April flowers burst into bloom on the mountain slopes and in the valleys Nagorno Karabakh, there are almost no Armenians there to celebrate the arrival of spring in their ancient homeland.

Staring death, destruction and starvation in the face on a daily basis, Christians in Gaza are staying steadfast to their commitment to love and serve, sharing ever-dwindling resources with their Muslim neighbours, report employees of two Catholic charities active in the Middle East.

When Pope (now St.) John Paul II arrived in Ottawa in 1984, the first pontiff to visit this country, greeting him in Ottawa was Canada’s 18th Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, one of 10 Catholics who have held that office since 1867. 

Speakers at a rally on Parliament Hill demanded the federal government provide more life-saving supports for those deeply suffering from mental illness rather than giving them access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

Once described as the “heart of darkness” by Polish-English author Joseph Conrad, Africa, despite its undeniable challenges, is now considered a continent of hope for the Catholic Church.  

Canada is already too far down the slippery slope with regard to medically assisted dying, and should aim for “living with dignity” as opposed to “dying with dignity” say proponents of more compassionate alternatives for the mentally ill and other vulnerable populations.

A multitude of problems — corruption, discrimination and unemployment at home, exacerbated by the fallout from the Gaza war — are driving an alarming number of Iraqi Christians from their homeland, seeking emigration as a last resort, say Church leaders and advocacy organizations.

From radical Islamic extremist determined to convert “infidels” to his faith, to the leader of a Christian organization in Germany, Raza Muhammad’s journey has been fraught with danger at every step of the way.