Merry Christmas! Forward in Christ and Forward in Faith North America thank you for your support and wish you all a joyful and merry Christmas as we celebrate the great Feast of the Incarnation.
Church of England Stands Against Unrestricted Abortion: The Church of England issued a press release on November 29 reaffirming its opposition to unrestricted abortion, stating:
“The Church of England’s stated position combines principled opposition with a recognition that there can be strictly limited conditions under which abortion may be morally preferable to any available alternative. This is based on our view that the foetus is a human life with the potential to develop relationships, think, pray, choose and love.”
The statement was made in the context of England’s December General Election, in which the Labour and Liberal Democrat opposition parties campaigned to remove laws restricting abortion.
American readers may be surprised to learn that such laws still exist in the UK.
Archbishop of Canterbury Supports Pro-Life Censorship: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has come out in favor of “buffer zones” where it’s illegal to protest infanticide in the vicinity of abortion clinics.
When a listener asked Welby on LBC Radio, “Do you support buffer zones around abortion clinics?” the head of the Anglican Communion replied, “Yes, I do, because people going to a... uh... abortion clinic, uh... whatever you think of abortion, they’re human beings.”
Continuing his response, the Archbishop stuttered, “You could say they’re doing the wrong thing, you could say they’re doing the right thing, you can say it’s their right, you can say that the baby has rights ... uh ...”
Days before Welby’s interview, Christian Hacking, 29, was arrested for praying outside a Marie Stopes abortion mill in Ealing, West London. As reported by the Daily Telegraph, this marked the first time in England’s history that a person was arrested for praying.
In America, prayer is banned in public schools but allowed outside of abortion mills.
Missouri Gets a Gay Bishop: The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri elected its first ever partnered gay bishop in November. Rev. Deon Johnson will become the diocese’s 11th bishop figure and brings his same-sex partner and two children. Johnson takes over from Bishop George Smith who retires in 2020.
According to Virtueonline the Diocese of Missouri is in “free fall,” showing a 30% drop in baptized membership between 2002-2017, declining from 14,546 members to 10,255. Sunday attendance fell by a similar percentage over the same timeframe, going from 5,018 to near 3,000, and baptisms plummeted by a dramatic 57.3%.
Whether Johnson will reverse this worrying trend is presently unclear.
Indian Christians Freed: Five Indian Christians who were wrongfully convicted of killing militant nationalist leader Laxmananda Saraswati, have been freed by order of India’s Supreme Court.
Bhaskar Sunamajhi, Buddhadev Nayak, Durjo Sunamajhi, Sanatan Badamajhi and Munda Badamajhi were granted bail in November and join Gornath Chalanseth and Bijaya Kumar Sanaseth who were freed earlier this year. The seven had spent eleven years in jail.
Despite a Maoist group claiming responsibility for Saraswati’s shooting, a wave of Christian persecution ensued, with 90 Christians killed, thousands injured, 56,000 left homeless and 300 churches destroyed.
Sajan K. George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, thanked God for the release of all seven men, whose families were supported by Barnabas Fund during their imprisonment. He said, “The court sentenced them to life imprisonment on the basis of false accusations of a fabricated ‘theory of Christian conspiracy’ although there was no obvious evidence.”
Forward in Christ urges your prayers for the persecuted church throughout the world.
Rosary Prayed Outside Vienna Cathedral: Over 120 people prayed the rosary outside Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral in late November while a sacrilegious LGBT AIDS fundraiser was held inside.
The prayers were led by catholic activist Alexander Tschugguel, 26, who gained notoriety for taking pagan idols out of a church in Rome and throwing them in the river Tiber earlier this year.
Entitled “Believe Together,” the Cathedral’s gay money raising concert was organized by the Austrian Knights of Malta and gay activist Gery Keszler. It featured Austria’s most famous drag queen, Thomas Neuwirth.
The Knights of Malta were once renowned for their defense of catholic Christianity.
Coffee For Life: The Benedictine monks of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery offer a pro-life alternative to coffee sold by large pro-abortion companies.
Profit from the monks’ Abbey Roast Cafe4Life program o to various pro-life groups. Parishes can also buy the coffee wholesale and sell it to further the work of the Gospel. This holiday season, sales of the monks’ special Christmas blend will exclusively benefit LifeSiteNews.
The Benedictine java is the offical coffee of the March For Life and can be purchased through the monks’ website, Abbey Roast, at https://www.abbeyroast.com.
Forward in Christ recommends this important ministry as we stand together with faithful Christians in defense of the sanctity of life.
