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Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Faith leaders condemn Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church
(NewsNation) — Fallout continues to grow after an Israeli tank shell struck the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza on Thursday, drawing strong condemnation from international faith leaders. The shell killed three people, wounding 10 and damaging the building. Hundreds of Palestinians had been using the church compound for shelter and aid during the now 21-month war between Israel and Hamas. The site was providing refuge to both Christians and Muslims, including children with disabilities. Religious leaders condemn the attack Top Christian leaders in Jerusalem visited the church on Friday in a show of solidarity after the strike. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, led a delegation to the compound, helping to evacuate injured individuals for treatment outside of Gaza and announcing plans to provide food and medical aid to those in need. The leaders 'express(ed) the shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land and their concern for the community of Gaza,' according to a press release from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Pope Leo spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and 'reiterated the urgent need to protect places of worship and, especially, the faithful and all people in Palestine and Israel,' according to the Holy See Press Office. Pope Francis had a special connection to the church, having spoken frequently with its members over the phone throughout the war and in the months leading up to his death. Israel, Netanyahu apologize The attack was described as an accident by Israeli officials. 'Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful,' Netanyahu said in a statement from the Prime Minister's Office. The incident is currently under review by the Israel Defense Forces. Pressure to reach a ceasefire deal continues to mount amid the ongoing conflict that has resulted in nearly 60,000 Palestinian deaths following the Oct. 7 attack in Israel that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and resulted in the abduction of 251. President Donald Trump also expressed his dismay with the attack in a phone call with Netanyahu. The Associated Press contributed to this report Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Bishop appointed by Pope Leo calls for ICE to stop deportations
A bishop appointed by Pope Leo descended on a California court today with a dozen other priests and faith leaders in an attempt to persuade ICE against deporting migrants. Newly-appointed Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Diego, Michael Pham made an appeal on June 11, asking fellow men of the cloth to join migrants at hearings at the federal courthouse on June 20, International Refugee Day. Friday, he was among 16 who went to the Southern California federal courthouse to support the migrants in the US legally who were pleading their cases. In his appeal, Pham said the migrants were in a 'difficult predicament' of being hauled before judges. 'We know that migrants and refugees find themselves in the difficult predicament of being called to appear, which is what the government asks of them, and then being given orders for expedited removal from our country. 'It has been experienced that the presence of faith leaders makes a difference in how the migrants are treated. 'Unfortunately, it will most likely not change the outcome,' he said. A spokesman for the Diocese of San Diego told Daily Mail the religious delegation who sat in court on Friday were not there to confront anyone and had informed judges of their presence ahead of time. It's unclear what impact they had. Dramatic and emotional scenes have played out in courts across the country where migrants who went from legal to illegal in seconds are taken away. In situations where a parent will be deported, their American kids can either be removed from the US along with them or stay behind with family in the US. The migrants most at risk for being caught up in this legal catch-22 are those who have arrived in country in the last two years. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has jurisdiction of new cases for two years. When those migrants are arriving in court, Trump federal prosecutors will inform the judge that they want to dismiss the case. However, that doesn't mean the legal claim can forward. Instead, it means the case is out of the hands of the court and ICE now has jurisdiction to make an arrest. Priests and churches across the country have spoken out against Trump's deportation policies. In Los Angeles, priests stood shoulder to shoulder with anti-ICE protestors as riots exploded earlier this month. When Trump first won re-election, the United Methodist Church issued a blistering rebuke of the president-elect two days after his victory. 'The lessons of teach us the dangers of silence in the face of threats to human rights,' the Council of Bishops wrote on Nov. 7. 'We therefore reject rhetoric, policies, and actions that demean or discriminate against any of God's children and will be vigilant in defending the rights of the vulnerable and speaking out against oppression.'
CBS News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Faith leaders gather at Minnesota Capitol in plea to end political violence
Dozens of Minnesota faith leaders converged on the State Capitol Friday to urge an end to hate speech and political violence in the wake of the assassination of House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman. "All of us grieve," said Suzanne Kelly, CEO of the Minnesota Council of Churches. "All of us need to wrap ourselves around those who are representing us here and fighting the good fight." Kelly stood among other pastors, rabbis and imams at a news conference to read a statement signed by more than 400 faith leaders. "Our traditions are clear: we are obliged to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to offer rest for the weary, and to protect the oppressed," the statement reads in part. "These requirements do not come with caveats or conditions. It is our moral obligation and our faithful task to build a world that protects the dignity and sacredness of every being, without exception." WCCO Kelly said the call to build bridges is not just a platitude, but rather a call for civil dialogue and substantive conversation. "I don't want to suggest that we are suddenly in a kumbaya moment where we put aside our differences and say we're united," she said. "What I do want to see is that we can have real dialogue." According to Kelly, clergy have a responsibility to look inward and lead by example. "I have not spoken up, for instance, about the brutal murder of the two individuals of Washington, D.C., the two Jewish individuals," Kelly said, referring to the shooting deaths of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who worked at the Israeli Embassy. "I did not speak up about that. I did not write about that. I need to make sure my voice is being heard not just on local issues or issues that the [Minnesota Council of Churches] is caring about or putting forth, but on all issues where humanity is threatened." The man charged in Saturday's politically motivated shootings, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, is in custody and charged with multiple federal and state crimes. John Hoffman is still hospitalized in serious but stable condition, according to his family. His wife, Yvette, has since been released.
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘To not speak out is to be complicit': LA faith leaders mobilize amid Ice raids
Kevin Kang, a pastor at a United Methodist church about 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, was furious last Thursday when he heard that the taco stand next door was raided by immigration agents. Not only did US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) target his favorite vendors, he said, they had also used the church parking lot to prepare for a raid on a host of popular Mexican food trucks on Foothill Boulevard, a major street in the city of Tujunga. Kang, who had been protesting all week in downtown LA, rallied congregants to put up signs declaring 'ICE activities not welcome' on church grounds. They also procured walkie-talkies for church members to report Ice activities. 'When I look at the scripture, when I look at the message and story of Jesus, he constantly is telling us to defend the most vulnerable,' said Kang, a son of Korean immigrants. 'In modern day, we're all on stolen land, so how can we call somebody 'illegal'?' Since federal immigration officers descended on Los Angeles on 6 June, dozens of faith leaders from across southern California – clergy in their long robes, Quakers in Black felt hats, laymen and rabbis – have marched in demonstrations against workplace raids and mobilized to provide services to undocumented immigrants. Many spoke of their faith as a guiding force in their activism and devotion to help the most vulnerable. 'To not speak out is to be complicit in saying that some of us are disposable,' said Eddie Anderson, a senior pastor at McCarty Memorial Christian church in West Adams. Anderson, who has been protesting in his tailored clergy vest, said faith leaders can play an especially important role in de-escalating tension at demonstrations, serving as a buffer between protesters and law enforcement to prevent confrontations from devolving into violence. As LA county became a flashpoint in Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, Ice has begun targeting Latino parishes. At Downey Memorial Christian church on Thursday, officers reportedly arrested a man in the parking lot then pointed a gun at senior pastor Tanya Lopez when she questioned why they were arresting him. The sanctuary status that churches have long held is increasingly under threat. In January, the Trump administration overturned a 2011 policy that limited migrant arrests at 'sensitive locations' like schools, hospitals and churches. A month later, more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups sued the administration over the policy change, but a federal judge sided with the president. Kang said that while none of his congregants are undocumented, the raids have affected community members who depend on the church's social programs. (One-third of Tujunga's population is Latino.) At the food bank, which serves roughly 300 people every Wednesday, attendance fell by about 30% last week, Kang said. 'Basically all our Latino community members stopped coming to the pantry,' he said. LA county is home to the largest undocumented immigrant population in the country, with nearly 1 million people without status. At least 330 immigrants have been arrested in LA over the past week and a half, as Trump deployed more than 4,000 national guard troops and marines to quell protests downtown. On Saturday, an estimated 200,000 people attended the city's 'No Kings' protest – one of the largest showings across the country, according to organizers. Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (Clue), a network of faith leaders fighting against local economic and social injustices, established a bail fund for detained immigrants and organized a 30-day rapid response plan in which faith leaders would fast, lead prayer vigils and hold gatherings to demand the reunification of families. The month-long action plan, called the 'Summer of Resistance', began Saturday at Placita Olvera, a historic downtown street where religious groups fought against injustices. In the early 1900s, the women from La Plaza United Methodist church established the city's first integrated drinking fountain in the historic district. 'It's been a place where people of conscience trying to build a better city have gathered to protest,' said Rev Jennifer Gutierrez, Clue's executive director. 'It's a place where for a long time people of faith have been saying that we care about all communities.' Gutierrez said Clue has also been conducting de-escalation training for protesters as well as mobilizing faith leaders to immigration courts, where Ice has been arresting people showing up for hearings. LA churches have long functioned both as refuge and protest spaces, particularly against anti-immigrant policies. During the 1980s, the city became a focal point of the burgeoning sanctuary movement that began in Tucson, where hundreds of congregations defied immigration law to provide aid to Central American refugees fleeing civil conflicts. As roughly half a million Salvadorians arrived in LA, Father Luis Olivares established the country's largest sanctuary program at La Placita church, providing food, clothing and shelter to the refugees. 'In no other part of the US where there were sanctuary movements was there such an organized program,' said Mario Garcia, a professor of Chicana and Chicano studies and history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of Father Luis Olivares, A Biography: Faith Politics and the Origins of the Sanctuary Movement in Los Angeles. Olivares and other faith leaders at La Placita 'were carrying out a type of faith politics', Garcia said, where 'their faith was being put into action' to help the vulnerable. Olivares also offered sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, primarily from Mexico – a radical step that no other church in the country took, Garcia said. 'I absolutely believe the church has a role in providing sanctuary – in both a political and spiritual sense,' said Rev Omega Burckhardt, a senior minister at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist church in Pasadena. Burckhardt said she attended a 'No Kings' protest in Pasadena last weekend with more than two dozen of her congregants. Her church has been working with local faith groups to provide resources, like 'Know Your Rights' and legal services information, to community members. Since the raids began, she said there's been growing interest from church members to become more involved. 'How we choose to be together, offering a place of reflection and discernment, is fundamental to how we build a more loving world,' Burckhardt said.
The Independent
14-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Community visibly emotional during candlelit vigil for Air India crash victims
People attending a vigil in London to remember victims of the Air India plane crash became visibly emotional after learning that two young girls had been orphaned by the disaster. Faith leaders from the Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities led the service on Saturday at the Siddhashram Shakti Centre in Harrow, north-west London, where 20 of the victims are thought to have previously worshipped. One of the most emotional moments of the vigil came when Harrow Mayor, Councillor Anjana Patel, shared that two young girls had lost their father in the crash, just weeks after their mother died from cancer. Their father, Arjun Patoliya, had flown to Gujarat to scatter his wife Bharti's ashes following her death. He was returning home to his daughters, aged four and eight, when the plane went down. 'The saddest incident we have got here in Harrow is one parent had already died here because of cancer,' Cllr Patel said, as the crowd audibly gasped. 'The husband went to do the rituals in India and coming back, he was on board. He has left two little girls behind and the girls are now orphans. 'I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us.' She added: 'Caring is the most that we can do at this hour. 'We don't have any words to describe how the families and friends must be feeling, so what we can do is pray for them.' She also revealed how her sister-in-law's cousin had been killed in the crash. Local councillors, a local MP and residents packed into the temple for the ceremony, which included emotional tributes, candle lighting, and a message of condolence from the King. Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East, said it was believed to be the highest number of British deaths ever recorded in a plane crash, with 53 UK nationals on board. 'When someone dies in illness or old age, we celebrate their lives,' he said. 'But when an air crash happens – completely unpredictable – people are taken away from us immediately, just like that.' 'We think of all those families sitting by the telephone, wondering if their loved ones were actually on the plane.' He said the Gujarati community in the UK was deeply affected, with victims having links to Harrow, Leicester, Birmingham and beyond. 'The difficulty the authorities have already got is: who are they visiting? Which family members were they coming to see in the UK?' he said. Councillor Hitesh Karia, who represents Pinner South ward and is a member of the temple's congregation, also shared the impact of the tragedy. Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: 'It's nice that the local community can come together – the local support means a lot. 'Twenty devotees that come here have sadly lost their lives.' 'It shows there is a solidarity, and despite the high amount of diversity, we can come together when appropriate.' The vigil was held at the temple led by Shri Rajrajeshwar Guruji, who previously told PA he knew 20 of the victims personally. Many in the hall quietly wept as candles were lit by representatives of all four faiths. 'The only feeling left is sadness – we can't do any more,' Mr Guruji said.
