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2011年4月25日星期一

Pope's Easter Message Urges Peace in Africa, Middle East

Sabina Castelfranco | Rome ?April 24, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during the 'Urbi et Orbi' (Latin for to the City and to the World) message from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican, April 24, 2011

Tens of thousands of worshippers attended Easter Mass in Saint Peter’s Square Sunday. In his message to the world, Pope Benedict prayed for victims of conflicts in Ivory Coast and other African countries and called for an end to the fighting in Libya.

Easter Sunday brings to an end a very busy Holy Week for the 84-year-old Pope Benedict. Worshippers of all ages and nationalities attended Easter mass Sunday.? For those in the square it is a very special time.

"To be here at Easter time is renewal, it’s refreshing and its looking ahead no matter what is happening in the world," says this worshipper. "It’s very, very crowded but what I think is really, really neat about it is there are people from all over the world. I like it because it is kind of an international conglomeration of people coming together."

At the end of the mass, the pope delivered his papal address to the city of Rome and to the world, known as the "Urbi et Orbi,"? from the central balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The pope asked for help for those fleeing conflict and for refugees from various African countries, particularly Libya and Ivory Coast, who have been forced to leave their homes. The pope urged people of good will to open their hearts to welcome them.

The pope also turned his thoughts to Japan and other countries that in recent months have been tested by natural disasters, which have sown pain and anguish.

Pope Benedict then gave his Easter greetings and blessings to the faithful around the world in more that 60 different languages.?

Indonesia's Christian Worshippers Pack Easter Services Despite Bomb Threat

Sara Schonhardt | Jakarta ?April 24, 2011

Christian worshippers fill St. Theresia Church for Easter Sunday services, Central Jakarta, Indonesia, April 24, 2011

Christian worshipers packed Easter services in Jakarta on Sunday, despite a bomb scare at a church days earlier that put police on the highest alert and added to concerns that minority religions are being targeted by increasingly active Islamic hardliners.

Hundreds of people stand together singing at Gereja St. Theresia, while children play with colorful plastic eggs and mothers cradle infants. The celebration here was one of many across Jakarta, where churches overflowed with worshipers undeterred by security threats after police defused several massive bombs on Thursday at a church on the outskirts of the capital.

To safeguard Easter celebrations, police deployed around 20,000 officers to Christian worship sites, and many churches set up security checks at their entrances.

Michael Kawulusan, who attends services at St. Theresia every Sunday, says the increased police presence was reassuring.

"We come to the church for praying so we’re hoping nothing will happen," said Kawulusan. "Of course we are worried, but with these policemen over here guarding the church, I think it should be fine."

Anti-terror police foiled a plot to bomb the church on Good Friday thanks to information obtained after the arrest of 20 people suspected of sending parcel bombs to several prominent figures in Jakarta last month.

The discovery of those devices followed a suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police compound on April 15 that injured around 30 people.

Indonesia is a politically secular country with the world’s largest Muslim population. But increasing attacks against Christians and minority Islamic sects considered deviant have raised concerns of rising intolerance.

Security officials say the string of recent incidents also illustrates the changing face of extremism in Indonesia.? Islamic terrorist groups have previously focused attacks on Westerners in large hotels and embassies.

An International Crisis Group report published last week noted that recent events highlight a shifting trend toward small groups of militants acting independently of large jihadi organizations to attack Indonesians rather than foreigners.

The potential threat has not deterred Anastasia Veronica, who says she has been worshipping at St. Theresia since she was a child, and plans to continue attending with her husband and six-month-old daughter.

"If there was a bomb that exploded here," she said. "We’ve already received guidance by coming to celebrate this day, so I’m not scared."

Across town at the historic Cathedral Church, sounds of hallelujah mix with the Islamic call to prayer. A spokesman for the church estimates the crowd at more than 2,500, still far less than the 4,000 people who took part in Good Friday’s services.

Lucia Darpeni says she is not letting the pre-Easter bomb stop her from worshiping as usual.

"We come here to clean our hearts," she said. "So there is nothing to fear. Even a little fear cannot prevent us from our activities."

Other worshipers agree, saying their faith will be enough to protect them.

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Christian Pilgrims Celebrate Easter in Jerusalem

Christian Pilgrims Celebrate Easter in Jerusalem | News | English/*

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RSS FeedChristian Pilgrims Celebrate Easter in Jerusalem Robert Berger|Jerusalem?April 24, 2011

Photo: APA Christian pilgrim rests her head on an altar as she prays inside the church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where many Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified and buried, Jerusalem, April 24, 2011

Share ThisFacebookYahoo! BuzzRelated ArticlesPope's Easter Message Urges Peace in Africa, Middle East Christians Celebrate Easter in Jerusalem, Violence in West Bank Kills 1 China Cracks Down on Would-be Easter Congregants

Christians celebrated Easter on Sunday, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Easter celebrations in Jerusalem began at dawn with a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb. Worshipers sang hymns facing an ancient, empty tomb carved into a rock. The holy site is said to resemble the garden where Jesus was buried, according to biblical accounts. A sign on the tomb’s door says, "He is not here. He is risen."

The main Easter services took place at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Catholic priests and monks in festive robes celebrated Mass, as a fragrant cloud of incense rose above the ancient stone tomb believed to be the place where Jesus rose from the dead.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims came to Jerusalem for Easter, including John Bennett from Houston, Texas, in the United States.

"It is a special place in the hearts of all Christians all over the world. This is where the Messiah died, was buried and rose again. And it’s a wonderful experience to get here."

Freann Linecar came from Cardiff, Wales.

"It is the most amazing experience; it has brought so much of the Scripture to life for me. And being here with Christians from across the world really just makes me feel so excited that Christ is working in our land, in all the lands."

It was a big turnout this year because the Eastern Orthodox and Western Churches celebrated Easter on the same day.

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China Cracks Down on Would-be Easter Congregants

China Cracks Down on Would-be Easter Congregants | News | English/*

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RSS FeedChina Cracks Down on Would-be Easter Congregants Peter Simpson|Beijing?April 24, 2011

Photo: VOA - P. SimpsonPolice officers filming and checking VOA reporter's documents as he tried to get close to the site of the banned Easter service in Beijing, April 24, 2011

Share ThisFacebookYahoo! BuzzRelated ArticlesReligious Rights Groups: China 'House Churches' Face Increasing PersecutionChristian Pilgrims Celebrate Easter in JerusalemChristians Celebrate Easter in Jerusalem, Violence in West Bank Kills 1 Chinese Christians Vow to Defy Government Order Against Outdoor Easter Services

Chinese police detained up to 40 Christians who tried to converge at the site of a banned Easter service Sunday and placed 500 more under house arrest.

Police deployed in large numbers early Sunday in northwest Beijing, where the independent Shouwang Church planned to hold an outdoor service to mark the holiest day of the Christian calendar.

Church members say up to 40 congregants were rounded up to prevent them from reaching a park close to their former church building, which has been shut down by the authorities.

A VOA correspondent on the scene saw worshippers driven away in buses in the mass police operation. Police prevented foreign journalists from getting close.

Shouwang church member Kathy Lu said many members of the congregation are facing persecution from the authorities and were prevented from attending the service.

"Around 40 were taken away. Over 500 members were not allowed to leave their homes. One of the deacons returned to his home last Friday afternoon and the police came to ask him if he planned to attend the Easter Sunday service.? He said yes, so the police said from this moment, you cannot leave this house. I spoke to him an hour ago, and he was still not able to leave the house."

Worshippers have been detained in similar scenes since early April, when acts of defiance against the government began.

Lu says many have lost their jobs and been evicted from their homes because their landlords and bosses are also coming under pressure from security officials.

Authorities evicted Shouwang from its previous place of worship, a rented office space, in November and blocked the congregation of about 1,000 people from entering new premises purchased with church funds.

Less than one kilometer away from the planned open air service, the scene was very different.

Hundreds of Chinese gathered for Easter morning worship at the state-sanctioned Haidian Christian Church.

There, families and youngsters in fancy-dress rabbit ears gave out eggs, sung hymns, rang church bells and prayed.

About 15 million Protestants and five million Catholics worship at official churches in China, according to recent official data.

But an estimated 50 million others are believed to pray at so-called "underground" or "house" churches like Shouwang, which refuse to submit to government regulations.

The persecution of these Christians and other human rights abuses are to be raised with the Chinese government by U.S. officials in Beijing later this week.

The U.S. government has repeatedly criticized China's human rights record. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an autonomous government board, last week condemned the actions against Shouwang.

Sunday's crackdown on Christians comes ahead of next week's annual human rights talks between Beijing and Washington in China.

Lu is among those calling on the United States to demand Beijing respect human rights and religious freedom.

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