Asquith’s News Tips: A weekly roundup of news stories you don’t want to miss
VATICAN CITY
Vatican denies reports of Islamist attack warnings
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Vatican spokesman clarifies Pope’s remarks on blasphemy — Father Thomas Rosica of the Holy See Press Office has issued a statement clarifying Pope Francis’s remarks on freedom of speech and blasphemy
CATHOLIC CULTURE
CATHOLIC CULTURE
Pope Francis: "I quote the Gospel and they call me a Communist" — The Pontiff is legendary for his passion for the poor, but in a new interview he insists he’s not driven by a Communist-inspired ideology, but by the cornerstones of the Christian faith and the Gospel
CRUX
CRUX
"Paul VI was right to warn against contraception" — Pope Francis
CNA
CNA
Pope Francis gives Sri Lanka its first saint — Pope Francis gave Sri Lanka its first saint at a waterfront Mass for more half a million people in Colombo on Wednesday, calling 17th century missionary Joseph Vaz a model of reconciliation after the country’s recent civil war
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Francis urges Filipino leaders to reject corruption
RADIO VATICANA
RADIO VATICANA
Pope makes surprise visit to Buddhist temple — According to Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, the Pope made a brief stop at the Mahabodhi temple in Sri Lanka’s capital city to meet Banagila Upatissa, one of the Buddhist leaders who had welcomed the Holy Father when he arrived in the country on Tuesday
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Pontiff tells families to be examples of holiness and prayer
VATICAN NEWS
VATICAN NEWS
Francis meets rescued street children in surprise visit — Pope Francis has made a surprise visit to a foundation for rescued street children in Manila after they sent him thousands of letters urging him to visit them
CATHOLIC HERALD
CATHOLIC HERALD
Pope Francis to canonize Franciscan missionary a saint during US visit
RNS
RNS
NORTH AMERICA
"Poor have it easy" — say America’s wealthiest
CNN
CNN
Flashback: Pro-choice lawyer urged Clinton to "use abortion to eliminate poor Americans"
IW
IW
FBI expands surveillance — Declassified information reveals how the FBI’s role in warrantless surveillance is increasing
SCM
SCM
Obama’s internet proposal is CISPA with a new name — Obama proposes dragnet for American’s private data
IW
IW
CyberCaliphate vows to make Tennessee "infidels" suffer
SCM
SCM
400 US Troops to Train Syrian Opposition — (Are we never going to learn?)
TDB
TDB
"The world cannot be made safe from terrorists" — say experts
RECORD
RECORD
US criticized for absence at Paris unity march — The international community is criticizing the White House and the Obama administration for missing a march in France that was meant to show unity following the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack last week (Obama, walking alongside Netanyahu in a march decrying Islamic violence? I don’t think that is something we are likely to see)
CHRISTIAN TIMES
CHRISTIAN TIMES
Christianity is losing in America — Meanwhile, the Church is, in general, sitting out the fight and hoping the problem goes away
AMERICAN THINKER
AMERICAN THINKER
Is God’s hand of protection over America being withdrawn?
CBN
CBN
Gay activists praise mayor who sacked Christian Atlanta Fire Chief
LIFE SITE
LIFE SITE
Church discrimination case reaches US Supreme Court after town orders removal of religious signs — The US Supreme Court will take up a new religious rights case when it considers whether a town in Arizona discriminated against a local church by forcing it to remove signs notifying the public of its worship services
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
US eases Cuba travel restrictions
OBSERVER
OBSERVER
Ten signs your church has been secularized
CHARISMA
CHARISMA
North Carolina residents rally over removal of "Religious" veterans memorial
CHRISTIAN NEWS
CHRISTIAN NEWS
Catholic Charities USA appoints nun as its leader
CHURCH EXECUTIVE
CHURCH EXECUTIVE
Gas tax would hit middle class right in the tank — (Look out for federal initiatives which have the effect of reducing "middle" America’s financial security to peanuts)
CBN
CBN
Duke University reverses plan for campus-wide Muslim call to prayer from chapel bell tower — Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations at the University, said, "It was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect" (How can issuing the adhan from a historic chapel be "unifying," unless of course the Christians at Duke could care less about the integrity of their faith, and which I suppose is a real possibility)
GOSPEL HERALD CHARISMA
GOSPEL HERALD CHARISMA
Canada bans Russian film opposing homosexual agenda — A Russian-made documentary claiming to expose a homosexual campaign to undermine Western morals, has been banned by Canada’s Border Services Agency (Remember .. we mustn’t speak the truth .. especially if it offends. NOT!!)
LIFE SITE
LIFE SITE
ISRAEL
"Every single French Jew I know has left Paris:" Editor of Jewish Chronicle — Jews are fleeing terror-hit Paris because of growing anti-Semitism in France, one of Britain’s most influential Jewish journalists has said
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
Agency predicts mass migration of French Jews to Israel following attacks
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Hamas calls United States "rude and racist"
ARUTZ SHEVA
ARUTZ SHEVA
RECOMMENDED ON ALETEIA
I Was In Prison and You Visited Me — A first hand account of how prison ministry serves both inmates and volunteers
BRITAIN & IRELAND
British Muslim cleric offers his sincere thoughts on the Charlie Hebdo attack
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
The New Britain: Petrol station manager smashed grandmother’s windshield after she complained about being short-changed
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
Church of England’s pre-Election publication warns of lose-lose situations for many towns and cities — Entire regions of the country are trapped in an apparently inescapable economic downward spiral. It is "a tale of two cities," and turning the tide will come only through a commitment to solidarity, the Archbishop of Canterbury says
CHURCH TIMES
CHURCH TIMES
Indian faithful save church in England’s Catholic heartland — A historic church in Preston that was closed two months ago will re-open after the Bishop of Lancaster offered it to Syro-Malabar Catholics
CATHOLIC HERALD
CATHOLIC HERALD
The New Britain: Teenage online predator who stabbed to death 14-year-old boy he met playing video games had been arrested three years before over claims he raped another boy
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
Archbishop of Armagh calls upon Catholics to oppose legalistion of abortion
LIFE SITE
LIFE SITE
EUROPE
Anti-terror raid in Verviers, eastern Belgium — At least two people have been killed in an anti-terror raid, while a man suspected of selling guns used in last week’s terror attacks in France was being detained elsewhere
FN
FN
French police commissioner shoots himself after meeting relatives of Charlie Hebdo victim
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
German newspaper torched after reprinting Charlie Hebdo cartoons
RT
RT
France’s 750 "no-go" zones restrict citizens and allow Islamists to conquer territory without firing a shot
IJR
IJR
France to deploy 10,000 troops in wake of terror attacks
BBC
BBC
French Jesuit journal Études has taken down a blog with anti-Catholic cartoons posted in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo
REVUE ETUDES
REVUE ETUDES
European monetary trade wars break out — The European Constitutional Court of Justice ruled the European Central Bank has unlimited authority to massively inflate the euro causing the Swiss National Bank to drop its fixed exchange rate for the nation’s “franc” currency
BB
BB
France and Germany make anti-terror arrests
BB
BB
Fifteen detained after Belgian police kill Islamist gunmen
REUTERS
REUTERS
German town considers housing migrants in former concentration camp
BB
BB
Germany proposes "Jihadi" identity card
BB
BB
Italy accused of paying Al-Qaeda ransom to free girls
TDB
TDB
AFRICA
Radical Islamic jihadist army carries-out the second-deadliest terrorist attack in history as the world cares less .. because it’s in Africa! — As the world reeled from the deaths of 12 people in France last week, Nigeria’s Boko Haram murdered over 2,000 people, a massacre which has gone largely unnoticed
CHARISMA
CHARISMA
The horrific aftermath of Boko Haram massacre on Nigerian villages
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
Nigerian Church leader tells international community: "Please don’t forget us" — The Catholic Archbishop of Jos in Nigeria has appealed to the world to lend the violence-torn country the same amount of support it has given France in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attack (Good call by Ignatius, but sadly, unlikely to be responded to)
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Boko Haram strap explosives to 10-year-old girl, then detonate bomb which kills 16
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
UN reveals 353 killed in South Sudan attacks — UN investigators determined civilians were deliberately targeted by ethnicity in the towns of Bentiu and Bor in some of the worst violence since the South Sudan conflict began over a year ago
VOA
VOA
Kenyan priest translates Bible into Kikamba language
ACNS
ACNS
Kenyan Church Minister gunned down by radical Islamists
CHRISTIAN DAILY
CHRISTIAN DAILY
A respected Egyptian Muslim cleric offers his most sincere thoughts on Charlie Hebdo attack
JERUSALEM POST
JERUSALEM POST
Muslims in Algeria respond to Charlie Hebdo attack
JERUSALEM POST
JERUSALEM POST
MIDDLE EAST
Al Qaeda in Syria displays its interpretation of justice
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
Like father like son: ISIS murderers training children in the techniques of execution
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
Al-Jazeera calls "I am Charlie" slogan "alienating" — (Remember that Al-Jazeera is Qatar’s mouthpiece and that Qatar remains a wholesale sponsor of violent Islamist groups)
NATIONAL REVIEW
NATIONAL REVIEW
Islamic State affiliate in Libya captures 21 Coptic Christians — An Islamic State affiliate group known as the "State of Tripoli" in Libya have reportedly captured a group of 21 Coptic Christians
CHRISTIAN DAILY
CHRISTIAN DAILY
From Jihad to Jesus! — The testimony of jihadist fighter turned Christian
CHARISMA
CHARISMA
Islam is Peace: ISIS calls for radical step up in "City Wolf" attacks across the West — ISIS has taken to Twitter, calling on Muslims everywhere to honor and celebrate the men who massacred 12 people in Paris, by killing Westerners anywhere and everywhere to the glory of Allah
CBN
CBN
8,000 Nepali girls trafficked to the Emirates — (For over a decade I have sought to raise awareness regarding the plight of vulnerable men and women who are sent to work in the Middle East, but as you can imagine, the subject is distasteful to the regimes of Arabia who appear to wield an extraordinary
influence over the media and politics of many of their oil-consuming customers)
TIMES OF INDIA
influence over the media and politics of many of their oil-consuming customers)
TIMES OF INDIA
"You will never see $100 per barrel oil again" — Alwaleed bin Talal
USA TODAY
USA TODAY
Saudi Arabian cleric issues fatwa against making snowmen (Yes snowmen!)
WASHINGTON TIMES
WASHINGTON TIMES
Saudi Arabia’s history of hypocrisy which we choose to ignore
INDEPENDENT
INDEPENDENT
ASIA, AUSTRALIA & THE FAR EAST
Indian churches vandalized in series of attacks — The most recent attack in New Delhi was on Our Lady of Graces Church. The perpetrator was caught on CCTV destroying windows and breaking a statue of Mary early yesterday morning (As is mentioned elsewhere in this week’s roundup, the church in the West largely chooses to ignore the persecution taking place globally, hoping that it will eventually go away)
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Drug company uses Indian children as human guinea pigs
DAILY MAIL
DAILY MAIL
ISIS followers in Pakistan behead soldier
YN
YN
"Hang the cartoonists!" —
Pakistani Muslims demand death sentence for Charlie Hebdo staff for committing "worst act of terrorism" .. drawing the Prophet Mohammed
DAILY MAIL
Pakistani Muslims demand death sentence for Charlie Hebdo staff for committing "worst act of terrorism" .. drawing the Prophet Mohammed
DAILY MAIL
Indonesian teacher threatened over cultural visit to church — An Indonesian teacher who took a group of school children to visit a church has had her life threatened by Islamists
ASIA NEWS
ASIA NEWS
Philippines: Catholic Church struggles as thousands migrate to find work
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Ecclesial economics: The Catholic Church has a major presence in Philippine Bourse stock exchange
CHRISTIAN TIMES
CHRISTIAN TIMES
Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle: The Asian Pope Francis
CRUX
CRUX
How a Muslim doctor was ambushed by Australian media when she tried to stand up for Israel
THE BLAZE
THE BLAZE
Rejoice! Because China continues to accept Christ despite diabolical government opposition — (Though much of the church growth in China is non-Catholic, we are obliged to support this development if we are to live Christ’s teaching. The day the Catholic Church stops defending all Trinitarian churches, is the day we cease to be the representatives of Christ. We need to be speaking-out against the persecution of ALL churches in China)
GOSPEL HERALD
GOSPEL HERALD
FAMILY MATTERS
Speakers back out of engagements at Catholic-based "Legatus" conference over supposedly anti-gay agenda
LIFE SITE
LIFE SITE
Government officials collaborating with NARAL in efforts to shut down pro-life center — Evidence reveals a seven-part plan developed by NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) to shut down pro-life pregnancy care centers that could indicate a nationwide strategy
LIFE SITE
LIFE SITE
Kansas legislator introduces pro-life "dismemberment" bill — Senate Majority Whip Garrett Love is sponsoring the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, which he says is a first-in-the-nation bill. "We want to stop the gruesome practice of abortion, where baby’s arms and legs are torn off limb by limb, and end that practice in Kansas"
ONE NEWS
ONE NEWS
Russian parliamentarian proposes near-total ban on abortion – but will it pass?
LIFE SITE
LIFE SITE
ADDITIONAL
Let’s blame Christianity for EVERYTHING, and Islam for nothing! — After Islamic terrorists invade a newspaper office and murder 12 people, the first reaction from impartial observers, most assuredly, should not be to condemn Catholics for the Spanish Inquisition. Yet this is the disgusting and ahistorical message many liberal advocates of moral equivalence shared on social media
THE FEDERALIST
THE FEDERALIST
Ellen DeGeneres tells conservative pastor she does not have a gay agenda — Ellen DeGeneres resorted to using humour in addressing accusations that she is one of those in Hollywood advocating homosexuality
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
Meet the Catholic priest who doesn’t believe in celibacy — (There are thousands of Catholic priests who "struggle" to accept celibacy, not least of all because there is no Scriptural mandate insisting on this)
CHRISTIAN TODAY
CHRISTIAN TODAY
"Vintage Francis" — It was a good thing for Trinitas Cellars that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis, and not, say Pope Malbecius. When the Argentine cardinal became pope in 2013, Trinitas didn’t have any malbec — the famous Argentine grape — in its cellars. But it happened to have a few barrels of cabernet franc
RNS
RNS