Excerpt: “Death and grief are topics avoided at all costs in our society,” said Audrey Pellicano, 60, who hosts the New York Death Cafe, which will hold its fifth meeting on Wednesday. “If we talk about them, maybe we won’t fear them as much.”

My response: I thought this was an interesting article. I think we, as a culture, are death-denying and we love to pretend that somehow we are immortal in this world. But life is fragile and we haven’t come to terms with that on a constant basis. We keep forgetting that tomorrow isn’t promised to no man.

theorthodoxbrit:

Turkey has reacted angrily to the Vatican following a statement from Pope Francis describing the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as “the first genocide of the twentieth century” during a meeting with a delegation led by Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics on June 3, according to the Hyuriet Daily News.

“The Turkish Foreign Ministry delivered Turkey’s views on the issue and expressed disappointment to the embassy in Ankara and Vatican in Rome,” a Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News on June 7.

Pope Francis described the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as “the first genocide of the 20th century” during a meeting with a delegation led by Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics on June 3.

The pope met with members of the delegation and when one of them said that she was a descendant of genocide victims, he replied, “The first genocide of the 20th Century was that of the Armenians,” reiterating his earlier recognition of the mass killings as “Armenian Genocide” while he was the head of the Catholic Church in Buenos Aires as a cardinal.

In 2006, during events marking the 91st anniversary of the killings in Buenos Aires, he had urged Turkey to recognize “the genocide” as the “gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian people and the entire humanity.”

Commenting on the issue, Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese of Gougark Bishop Sebouh Chuljyan Primate said, “The pope is speaking out a historical truth. Turkey needs to see the pains and should face the genocide,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that the archives of the Vatican may be opened to investigate the issue further.

The director of the Armenian National Committee of South America, Alfonso Tabakian, explained that this was the first such statement from the pontiff since being elevated to pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Tabakian called the statement “very important since his words transcend any state or religion,” according to the Armenian weekly website.

Interesting article.

theorthodoxbrit:

Easter for Egypt’s Coptic community passed on May 5 without incident came as a relief for many Christians who have felt increasingly under threat after early April’s violence in Al Khosous and Cairo’s St. Mark’s Cathedral.

The fighting in Al Khosous on April 5 left four Christians and one Muslim dead. The funeral, which took place at the seat of Egypt’s papacy, St. Mark’s Cathedral, witnessed attacks on the mourners within the church compound by unknown Muslim assailants, Reuters reported on April 6. Witnesses accused the police of standing by as mourners were attacked and firing teargas into the compound.

In a rare display of discord, on April 8 Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Church, criticized Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi for not protecting the church during the funeral.

Egypt Independent reported that Pope Tawadros called for the vigilant application of justice and the law. Morsi had telephoned the pope the previous day, April 7, to say he considered any attack on the church a personal attack on him.

Although Morsi attended Easter services last year as a presidential candidate, he instead offered this year’s Easter greeting to the pope via telephone. Pope Tawadros II, who led his first Easter service since becoming head of the Coptic Church, read out a list of names of other Egyptian leaders who had also greeted the pope by phone. Reflecting the current political divide, the worshippers applauded the most loudly for Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, Sheikh Mazhar Shaheen of Omar Makram mosque by Tahrir Square, and head of the Judges Club Ahmed Al Zend, all of whom are perceived to be engaged in their own battles with the Muslim Brotherhood dominated government. President Morsi’s name received very little applause.

For Mary,  a Shubra resident who works for a local NGO, her extended family tried to dissuade her from permitting her son, a prep school student, to attend Easter services. Mary’s reaction, echoed by others, was matter-of-fact, “If you die in church, you die a martyr.”

Christians constitute 10% of Egypt’s population of 84 million. Although they have a long historical legacy in the country, they have complained of societal and institutional discrimination for decades.

Alfred Raouf, co-founder of the Free Egyptian Movement and a member of the Constitution Party, said: “Starting after Sadat, especially after the peace treaty with Israel, there was no outside enemy anymore. The Christians become the new ‘other,’ the internal enemy. Sadat didn’t have a strong ideology, and was having a difficult time with the Nasserites and socialists, so released many of the Islamists from jail to help combat them. He encouraged the Islamists and fueled the sectarian divide.”

The current situation of Brotherhood rule is the worst-case scenario for many in the Christian community. According to the Catholic Relief Services’ Cairo office, as of mid-March, almost 100,000 Christian families had left the country in the last two years over fears for their future.

For Raouf, the number of Christian emigrating is endemic of the country’s situation, and not unique to Christians. “Everyone wants to get out, including Muslims,” he said. “Christians just usually have families outside who can help them, and some countries have immigration policies that make it easier for them.”

Mary (whose full name is withheld because of her employer’s terms) resists the idea of leaving. “Solving the problem is not to emigrate,” she said, but then looking at her son, added: “But, I’m also rethinking this. If Morsi wins a second term, I’ll leave if they succeed. I need a future for myself and my son. But, I don’t think this will last for another four years.”

Her son, John, is more pessimistic. “Things are going to keep getting worse for another 30 to 40 years. At least in America or Britain, I’ll have a chance to live a better life.” He explains that his motivations for wanting to leave are a combination of the deteriorating economic, political and sectarian conditions.

Bishoy Tamry, a university student and member of the Maspero Youth Union’s political committee, said: “The Christians who call for emigration are a betrayal. What we think in the Maspero Youth Union is that we will continue our struggle with the Muslims against the regime. We know the ways of peaceful struggle to make a positive difference.”

Many Christians believe that the cause of Christians is closely linked with moderate Muslims. “What impacts them, impacts us,” said Mary. “The Salafis don’t consider them Muslim, and the Brotherhood wants to marginalize them.”

Said Rouaf: “After the revolution, the Islamists are speaking more freely on TV and in the media, whereas before they would say everything only in the mosques. Now, people are refuting them and criticizing them publicly, and it’s mainly moderate, sympathetic Muslims, not even the Christians. We will suffer for some time, but now the wound is open, and we have to clean it. Before, the wound was sealed with everything toxic festering inside.”

During Easter, there was controversy over a fatwa by Brotherhood leader Abdel Rahman al-Barr, who argued that Muslims are unable to greet Christians for Easter without compromising their religion. There was a flurry on social media denouncing the comments, and many popular bloggers and commentators wished the Christian community a happy Easter. Saad El Katani, the head of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, also sent his Easter greetings to the heads of the three churches celebrating the holiday last Sunday.

Regardless of words of solidarity and the reconciliation meetings, which generally occur between the mosque and the church after any sectarian incident, including the violence at Al Khosous and St. Mark’s Cathedral, the underlying fact is that the law needs to be applied to overcome mistrust between the religious communities.

“The perpetrators know that they will never be brought to justice, that they will get to escape,” Raouf said. Although many have been happy with the new pope for his rare criticism of Morsi following the incident, and believe that he may be a stronger force than his predecessor, Raouf still blames the church for agreeing to sit down with anyone representing the attackers at all.

He also views the root of sectarianism in the failure of the state to provide services. “All of the social services, including hospitals and schools, are next to a church or a mosque. As long as the state cannot provide, this gap will be filled by religious institutions.” Gaining support, and votes, by providing social services has long been a strategy used by the country’s Islamists, and one that is believed to have helped the Brotherhood win the last elections.

Reflecting on the future, Tamry worries that as Christians become increasingly fearful of this regime, they will withdraw from political life and get used to political attacks. However, at the same time, he sees hope in the deteriorating conditions,

“With Mubarak,” Tamry said, “Christians had a sense of safety, and now with the Brotherhood, the only way to be better is to change. In a way, it’s better than the past.”

Lord have mercy on my Coptic brothers.

Comments?

theorthodoxbrit:

Two Egyptians have been killed and two injured in an apparent attack on a Coptic church building near the Libyan city of Misrata, officials say.

A Misrata city council official told the BBC that there had been an explosion at the building as the four victims were eating lunch there.

It is not clear who was behind the blast in the small town of Dafiniyah.

There were conflicting reports as to whether it happened on Saturday or Sunday.

The Misrata council official told the BBC that home-made dynamite used for fishing was found on the site of the explosion.

The Egyptian government has requested more security at the church, Egypt’s Mena news agency reported.

“Egypt is requesting an investigation into the circumstances of the operation and for those responsible to be put on trial,” it quoted Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr as saying.

The church in Dafiniyah, just outside Misrata, is frequented by Egyptians.

Libya has a small Christian population composed mainly of foreigners. These include migrant workers from Egypt, where Coptic Christians are the biggest religious minority.

May the Lord raise them up with the crowns of Martyrs in their heavenly abode and make their memory to be Eternal.

Eternal memory to all the victims who died.

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in its history, the United States does not have a Protestant majority, according to a new study. One reason: The number of Americans with no religious affiliation is on the rise.

The percentage of Protestant adults in the U.S. has reached a low of 48 percent, the first time that Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has reported with certainty that the number has fallen below 50 percent. The drop has long been anticipated….

Your thoughts?

My response: This is completely ridiculous. I doubt Steve Jobs (RIP) and the other apple co-founder had the Genesis 3 forbidden fruit story in mind when creating Apple. Look how long Apple’s been around and not one time have I heard of a story like this happening. These claims of offense is baseless on many grounds.

Lord have mercy.

Typed with my iPhone.