CP World Report: Francois Hollande, Sudan Churches, Egypt Election, Dalai Lama, Facebook
Francois Hollande has been sworn in as the new French President, making him the first socialist leader in 17 years. He will later name his prime minister and fly to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a call to Catholics to rebel in the face of what it calls radical secularism, even if it means suffering the consequences. In a 12 page Pastoral letter the group called for a greater role of religion in government and for Christian professionals and civil servants to exercise their rights of conscience against issues that go against their beliefs.
More than 20 Sudan Interior churches have been forced to close their doors and Pastors have been fleeing to refugee camps, walking for days to reach safety. 120-thousand have now fled the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile state, where a humanitarian crisis looms. Samaritan's Purse has been helping out. Despite the upheaval, Christians in the camps continue to meet for worship and conduct bible study under the shade of trees. Refugee pastors have been asking for overseas prayer for the peace between Sudan and South Sudan.
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The Christian organizers of a marriage conference in Britain have been told by the Law Society to cancel their event. Desmond Hudson, the chief Executive of the Law Society said that the content of the marriage conference put on by the group "Christian Concern" sat uncomfortably with the stance of diversity held by the Law Society, because it espoused a view opposing gay marriage. Speakers lined up for the conference included High Court judge Sir Paul Coleridge, who recently launched a campaign to reduce the rate of family breakdown in Britain.
Meanwhile….The General Synod of the Church of Ireland has passed a motion upholding marriage as a union between one man and one woman. It also acknowledged, however, that members of the Church have mistreated and wounded people based on their sexuality. So the motion also committed the Church to promoting awareness and welcoming all people.
Facebook is set to go public this week. The company will sell 337 million shares of the company at $28 to $35 U-S dollars a share in what could be the biggest Initial Public Offering in history.
Should you buy Facebook shares? Or maybe the better question is – are you able to? Take a listen…..
The upcoming Egyptian Presidential election later this month is between Islamic hardliners and liberal Islamists. The latter says the constitution should be guided by Shariah law but at the same time…believe the rights of Christians and other minorities must be protected and religion should not influence public policies on education and economics. Egypt's parliament is dominated by Islamist parties but the next step in establishing a new government is choosing the new president. Egypt's presidential elections will take place on May 23 and 24. The president will be named in June.
The Dalai Lama is in central London where he received the Templeton Prize... Honoring those who have made an outstanding contribution to the understanding of spirituality. The winner receives more than $1.5-million-dollars in prize money. The Dalai Lama's plans on giving the prize money to the aid organization "Save the Children". During the press conference, a reporter posed a sensitive question to the Dalai Lama about whether Tibetan monks should stop setting themselves on fire to protest China's occupation of Tibet…..
