A B C D E F G H I J K L
  RELIGION NEWS: 1-JAN-11 - 31-DEC-11          
From 01-Jan-11 Copyright © 2011 by Macroknow inc. All Rights Reserved.
To 31-Dec-11  
Days 365  
News Items 2076
Date Event Category Authors Title X Event Source URL Item
01-Jan-11 VIO REL Edward Yeranian Blast at Egyptian Christian Church Kills 21 Egypt: Coptic Christian church bombing killed ≥21 people VOA News 1
6-Jan-11 REL Christian-Muslim tension reported in India, Iran, Egypt CatholicCulture.org 2
7-Jan-11 POL REL Cleric Urges Iraqis to Resist U.S. Iraq: thousands cheer Muqtada al-Sadr; al-Sadr: "Let the whole world hear that we reject America. . . We target only the occupier with all the means of resistance." NYT: AP 3
8-Jan-11 REL Verlyn Klinkenborg The King James Bible at 400 Verlyn Klinkenborg: The King James Bible at 403 NYT-Opinion 4
20-Jan-11 REL Rick Westhead Some Christians in Pakistan convert fear into safety Pakistan: ≥20 to 25 former Christians are converting to Islam each week  Toronto Star 5
8-Feb-11 REL LAW VIO Muslim Mob Burns Churches in Indonesia Indonesia: A Christian is sentenced for blaspheming Islam; unhappy with the sentence, a Muslim mob burned 2 churches  VOA News-AFP-AP 6
4-Mar-11 HEAL REL Jewish groups oppose circumcision ban in US city Activist Lloyd Schofield wants to criminalize infant circumcision in San Francisco. Schofield : "This is a human rights issue. . . This is a painful and irreversible surgery. . . It's a man's body. It's his right to choose and we're trying to preserve that choice." Abby Porth of the Jewish Community Relations Council: "This is one of the most fundamental practices to our tradition of over 3,000 years. . . It's symbolic of our covenant with God." AFP 7
10-Mar-11 VIO REL Richard Leiby; Contributors: Muhammad Mansour, Sherine Bayoumi  Sectarian clashes in Egypt challenge revolutionary idealism 8-Mar-11: Egypt: Christian-Muslim violence killed 13 people Washington Post 8
13-Mar-11 VIO REL Aaron Maasho Ethiopia PM blames Muslim sect over church attacks Ethiopia: up to 50 churches have been burnt since 2-Mar-11 Reuters Africa 9
16-Mar-11 REL Archbishop Bashar Warda The Christians of Iraq – Address by Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil from Northern Iraq Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil from Northern Iraq, on "Christians oppressed for their faith": "Islamists are not the only ones at fault. Secularists with an eye for profit are also responsible. Neighboring governments in the region feeding the insurgents with money and weapons to destabilize the government are also responsible. The rest of world’s governments have turned their backs on us, as if the human rights abuses and near genocide conditions Iraqi Christians experience, are temporary." Irish Catholic Bishop's Conference 10
20-Mar-11 VIO REL Luc van Kemenade Ethiopian Christians flee after church burnings Ethiopia: Muslim extremist torched 69 churches Radio Netherlands Worldwide 11
24-Mar-11 REL POL Michael Slackman; Contributor: Nadim Audi Islamist Group Is Rising Force in a New Egypt Egypt: the Muslim Brotherhood: a new political force in Egypt NYT 12
30-Mar-11 REL Nick Squires Surge in Satanism sparks rise in demand for exorcists, says Catholic Church Rome: surge in Satanism propelled by the Internet reported at a conference held at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome Telegraph 13
1-Apr-11 PRO VIO REL Kevin Gray; Pascal Fletcher (ed.). Additional reporting: Jane Sutton Florida pastor is focus of Muslim outrage - again Afghanistan: thousands protest against Florida pastor Terry Jones for overseeing the burning of a Koran; ≥7 U.N. staff were killed Reuters Canada 14
7-Apr-11 PRO REL German Catholics leave in droves: report Die Zeit: 180,000 Catholics dropped out of the Church (up from 130,000 in 2009) AFP 15
8-Apr-11 REL PRO MON Joshua Lapide Christian leaders against Israel: ban on Anglican bishop and new taxes are unjust Jerusalem: Christian churches protest against: Israel’s denial of a residency permit to Suheil Dawani, an Anglican bishop; and Israel's attempts to impose new taxes on churches. "The new taxes are an outrage against the tradition of the Ottoman Empire, British rule, that of Jordan and the UN Resolution of '47 that founded the State of Israel." AsiaNews 16
12-Apr-11 REL JUST Cardinal Francis George (USCCB President), et al. 2010 Annual Report on the Implementation of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” [report prepared by the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection for the National Review Board and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); and reviewed by the USCCB President, Cardinal Francis George; Mar-2011] Total cost of the clerical abuse scandal to American dioceses, from 2004 through 2010: $2.344 billion; the cost was distributed as follows:settlements, 78.29%; therapy for victims, 2.41%; support of offenders, 4.34%; attorneys' fees, 13.66%; other costs, 1.29% [Table 6: Cost Related to Allegations: Combined Totals] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 17
29-Apr-11 REL Selah Hennessy Britain's Prince William Marries Catherine Middleton U.K. Royal Wedding; Prince William marries Catherine Middleton VOA News 18
1-May-11 REL Benedict Proclaims John Paul Ii A Blessed  Vatican City, The Holy See: beatification of Pope John Paul II; hundreds of thousands of people joined the ceremony Vatican Information Service 19
2-May-11 VIO REL L.M. Africa/Nigeria-Clashes in northern Nigeria: a report of “Justice and Peace” complains that "someone has armed extremists" Commission for “Justice and Peace” report, published by Catholic News Service of Nigeria: toll of the Kafanchan clashes: ~300-500 deaths; 300 houses  destroyed: >14 thousand internally displaced persons Agenzia Fides 20
7-May-11 VIO REL Amy Fallon Nigerian 'revenge killings' leave 16 dead Nigeria: ≥16 killed in sectarian violence; ≥500 people were killed in Apr-2011 in election-related protests Guardian-Agencies 21
8-May-11 VIO REL Edward Yeranian Egypt to Use 'Iron Hand' for Security After Deadly Sectarian Violence Egypt: sectarian clashes killed 12 people; 2 churches were torched VOA News 22
12-May-11 VIO SEC REL David D. Kirkpatrick. Contributor: Mona El-Naggar Crime Wave in Egypt Has People Afraid, Even the Police Egypt is beset with a crime wave: Muslim-Christian PRO, soccer PRO, jailbreaks, a mob attack NYT 23
3-Jun-11 VIO REL Sociologist: Every 5 Minutes a Christian Is Martyred Massimo Introvigne of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), at a conference on Christian-Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue: 105,000 Christians are killed every year just for being Christian Zenit 24
24-Jun-11 LAW REL Nicholas Confessore; Michael Barbaro. Contributors: Danny Hakim; Thomas Kaplan  Gay Marriage Approved by N.Y. Senate New York Senate approved same-sex marriage bill  NYT 25
25-Jun-11 REL Jonathan Wynne-Jones Trevor Phillips wades into debate on religion in modern society Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the UK: "I think the most likely victim of actual religious discrimination in British society is a Muslim but the person who is most likely to feel slighted because of their religion is an evangelical Christian" Telegraph 26
26-Jun-11 GOV DEBT REL Kevin Flower. Contributor: Guy Azriel Israel denies fiscal pressure on Greece to block flotilla boats Israel: Israeli foreign ministry denied Israel and the U.S. were using economic pressure to coerce Greece into preventing boats from joining an international flotilla to the Gaza Strip; Yigal Palmor. "Do these people have any proof whatsoever to such claims? Their entire activity is aimed at demonizing the state of Israel. What are they saying, that we have used all the Jewish bankers in the world to cancel Greece's bonds? What kind of fantasy world are they living in?" [Edward Ayoub, Much Mind Editor: this appears to be connected to the "malicious slander" accusing Jews of a [here financial] "cannibalistic conspiracy" which allegedly had Jews swearing an "oath of hostility to the Greeks"; for more information, see Peter Schȁfer, Judeophobia, Harvard University Press, 1997, at 62-63] CNN World 27
26-Jun-11 REL Mark M. Gray Exclusive analysis: National Catholic marriage rate plummets OSV Newsweekly: U.S. Catholic marriage rate plummeted by ~60%; the percentages of U.S. adult Catholics who are married fell from 79% in 1972 to 53% in 2010; the percentages of U.S. adult Catholics, ages 18-40, who are married fell from 69% in 1972 to 38% in 2010 Our Sunday Visitor 28
26-Jun-11 VIO REL Mary Abdelmassih Egyptian Muslims Torch 8 Christian Homes on Rumor of Church Construction Egypt: a mob of ~200 Muslims torched 8 Christian homes in Awlad Khalaf AINA 29
28-Jun-11 REL VIO PRO Tensions in Jerusalem as arrest of rabbi who justifies killing Gentiles leads to protests Israel: ~200 activists protested the arrest of Rabbi Dov Lior; the rabbi had endorsed “Torat Hamelech,” a book by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira that justifies killing Gentiles (non-Jews) AsiaNews-Agencies 30
3-Jul-11 REL MON Ananthakrishnan G, TNN Rs 75,000 cr and counting: More treasure tumbles out of shrine India: treasure (including gold idols, figurines, coins, diamonds, and emeralds) valued at >Rs 75,000 crore was discovered at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple Times of India 31
17-Jul-11 GOV REL Jonathan Watts Vatican excommunicates bishop ordained by Chinese state Vatican: Joseph Huang Bingzhang, ordained bishop in China without papal approval, was excommunicated Guardian: The Observer 32
20-Jul-11 REL Jordan names mosque after Jesus Christ Jordan: first mosque to be dedicated to Jesus Christ in the Arab world [source: Al Quds Al Arabě] Vatican Insider 33
28-Jul-11 PRO REL LAW Indian Christians march on parliament, demand end to discrimination India: ~10,000 Christians protest against legal discrimination against Christian dalits (untouchables) CatholicCulture.org 34
28-Jul-11 REL POL VIO Paul Rosenberg America's own Taliban : A fast growing right-wing politico-religious presence plans to implement an end-times, Christian theocracy in the US Paul Rosenberg, in "America's own Taliban": "There's a right-wing politico-religious presence centred in the US, but with a global reach, engaging in similar [to Taliban] practises, destroying religious and cultural artifacts as a key aspect of its ideology of "strategic level spiritual warfare" (SLSW). . . the NAR [New Apostolic Reformation] is committed to replacing democracy with a religious dictatorship, which it sees as a necessary prelude for Christ's return to earth" Al Jazeera-Opinion 35
29-Jul-11 PRO FREE REL Al Pessin Islamists Show Solidarity in Massive Egypt Rally Cairo, Egypt: tens of thousands of Egyptians, including Islamists who support the establishment of Islamic Sharia law in Egypt, rallied on Tahrir Square  VOA News 36
29-Jul-11 GOV REL Juergen Baetz. Contributor: Melissa Eddy Germans quit church during 2010 sex scandal Germany: ~181,000 people quit the Roman Catholic Church in 2010, up from 124,000 in 2009 (up ~46% YOY); many blamed reports of sexual/physical abuse of children by clergy  AP 37
31-Jul-11 REL Michelle Boorstein To lead Ramadan prayers, mosques seek special voices Ramadan begins at sunset Sunday 31-Jul-2011 Washington Post 38
1-Aug-11 VIO REL Killings surge in Karachi's turf war 31-Jul-11: Karachi, Pakistan: 17 people were killed in ethnic violence; ~200 were killed in Jul-11 Al Jazeera: Reuters 39
5-Aug-11 REL SEC Israeli Police Restrict Access to Jerusalem for Ramadan Israel denied access to Jerusalem "for men and women under certain ages" on the first day of Ramadan VOA News-AFP-Reuters 40
15-Aug-11 VIO REL Attack against Kirkuk’s St Ephraim Syrian Orthodox Church Iraq: a bomb exploded near the St Ephraim Syrian Orthodox Church in Kirkuk; damage is extensive AsiaNews.it 41
18-Aug-11 REL Pope at WYD: do not be ashamed of the Lord 18-21-Aug-2011: Spain: Pope Benedict XVI joins in the World Youth Day (WYD) observances; Benedict XVI: “With all my heart, I say again to you young people: let nothing and no one take away your peace; do not be ashamed of the Lord” Vatican Radio 42
19-Aug-11 VIO REL Suicide Bombing at Pakistan Mosque Kills at Least 48 Pakistan: a suicide bomber targeted a mosque and killed ≥48 people VOA News-AP-AFP 43
28-Aug-11 VIO REL Suicide Bomber Kills 28 in Baghdad Mosque Iraq: suicide bomber targeted the largest Sunni mosque in Baghdad; ≥28 people were killed VOA News 44
13-Sep-11 REL JUST Child abuse victims accuse pope of crimes against humanity The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to "take action and prosecute the Pope" for "direct and superior responsibility for the crimes against humanity of rape and other sexual violence committed around the world" AFP 45
13-Sep-11 REL JUST Statements from SNAP Leaders on ICC filing Statement from the leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) on the International Criminal Court (ICC) filing  Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests 46
13-Sep-11 REL VIO Vatican official warns for rising violence against Christians in Europe Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE): conference on anti-Christian discrimination: Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Secretary for Relations with States, warned against anti-Christian violence in Europe CatholicCulture.org 47
22-Sep-11 REL Viaggio Apostolico Del Santo Padre Benedetto Xvi In Germania (22-25 Settembre 2011) (Ii) , 22.09.2011 22-25-Sep-11: Berlin, Germany: Pope Benedict XVI, 21st international apostolic trip: " . . . I have not come here primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals, as other statesmen do, but rather to meet people and to speak to them about God. . . we are witnessing a growing indifference to religion in society, which considers the issue of truth as something of an obstacle in its decision-making, and instead gives priority to utilitarian considerations. All the same, a binding basis for our coexistence is needed; otherwise people live in a purely individualistic way. Religion is one of these foundations for a successful social life. "Just as religion has need of freedom, so also freedom has need of religion." These words of the great bishop and social reformer Wilhelm von Ketteler, the second centenary of whose birth is being celebrated this year, remain timely. . . I can truly develop as a free person only by using my powers also for the welfare of others. And this holds true not only in private matters but also for society as a whole."
 The Holy See 48
26-Sep-11 VIO REL Konradus Epa Religious leaders condemn attack 25-Sep-11: Indonesia: suicide bombing at a Protestant church killed the bomber and injured ≥20 worshipers; Islamic and Christian leaders condemned the attack UCAnews.com 49
28-Sep-11 GOV REL Robert Berger Israel Observes Rosh Hashanah in Uncertain Times Jewish New Year: Rosh Hashanah in "a turbulent time for Israel" NYT 50
29-Sep-11 POL REL Dana Goldstein Why Fewer Young American Jews Share Their Parents' View of Israel U.S.: fewer young American Jews are likely to identify as "Zionist" Time-Viewpoint 51
30-Sep-11 REL UN ECON Mgr. Dominique Mamberti Lack Of Ethics In Economic Structures Worsens The Crisis 27-Sep-11: New York: Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States, address to the 66th General Assembly of the United Nations: "We know that a fundamental part of the current plight is a lack of ethics in economic structures. . . The economy cannot function only through market self-regulation, and even less so through agreements limited to balancing the interests of the most powerful groups. It needs an ethical raison d'etre to ensure that it works for mankind. The idea of producing goods and services . . . without seeking to do good – in other words, without ethics – has shown itself to be an illusion, either ingenuous or cynical, but always with fatal results. All economic decisions have moral consequences. The economy needs ethics . . . focused on the person and capable of offering prospects to the new generations." [Holy See: DELSS/VIS 20110930 (610)] VIS 52
2-Oct-11 REL MEDIA Father John Flynn, LC Anti-Christian Censorship and New Media National Religious Broadcasters report: "True Liberty in a New Media Age: An Examination of the Threat of Anti-Christian Censorship and Other Viewpoint Discrimination on New Media Platforms": "Our conclusion is that Christian ideas and other religious content face a clear and present danger of censorship on Web-based communication platforms"; platforms investigated include: Google, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter Zenit 53
9-Oct-11 REL VIO Robert Berger Anti-Arab Vandalism Mars Jewish High Holy Day Israel: Jewish anti-Arab vandalism on Yom Kippur -- both Christian and Muslim cemeteries desecrated; Orthodox Jewish militants were blamed VOA News 54
24-Oct-11 REL FIN MON Holy See Calls For Reform Of Global Finance The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a note titled: "Towards reforming the international financial and monetary systems in the context of a global public authority"; the note proposes "that globalisation be regulated by a global public authority" Vatican Information Service 55
24-Oct-11 REL FIN MON Full Text: Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Vatican Radio 56
27-Oct-11 REL PRO MON Victoria Ward George Carey: St Paul’s Cathedral protest damaging Christianity Lord Carey, on St. Paul's Cathedral's hosting of the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest: "One moment the Church was reclaiming a valuable role in hosting public protest and scrutiny, the next it was looking in turns like the temple which Jesus cleansed, or the officious risk-averse ’elf ’n’ safety bureaucracy of urban legend"; the Cathedral, which closed its doors for 6 days, lost Ł120,000 in revenue The Telegraph 57
30-Oct-11 REL VIO Mary Abdelmassih Coptic Christian Student Murdered By Classmates for Wearing a Cross 16-Oct-11: Egypt: a Christian student was murdered by his classmates "because he refused to take off his crucifix as ordered by his Muslim teacher" Assyrian International News Agency 58
4-Nov-11 REL Abdel Hadi al-Habtoor Massive throng of Muslims begins hajj rites Saudi Arabia: >2.5 million Muslim pilgrims begin hajj rites AFP 59
5-Nov-11 REL Over 2.5 Million in Saudi Arabia for Hajj Saudi Arabia: >2.5 million Muslim pilgrims are taking part in Hajj rites VOA News-AP-AFP 60
5-Nov-11 VIO REL BANK Attacks in Nigeria Leave at Least 65 Dead 4-Nov-11: Nigeria: islamic radicals attacked police stations, churches, and a bank; ≥65 people were killed VOA News-AP-AFP 61
12-Nov-11 REL FIN JUST Kevin Roose Nuns Who Won’t Stop Nudging Activist nuns want "to improve their [corporations'] sense of responsibility" NYT 62
19-Nov-11 REL Do Not Deprive Your Peoples Of Hope! Benin: Pope Benedict XVI: "From this place, I launch an appeal to all political and economic leaders of African countries and the rest of the world. Do not deprive your peoples of hope! Do not cut them off from their future by mutilating their present! Adopt a courageous ethical approach to your responsibilities and, if you are believers, ask God to grant you wisdom!" Vatican Information Service 63
6-Dec-11 REL VIO Afghan suicide bombs kills at least 60 Shias Afghanistan: suicide bomb attacks targeting Shias killed ≥60 people CBC News-AP 64
11-Dec-11 VIO REL Karzai: Death Toll in Attacks on Afghan Shi'ites Rises to 80 6-Dec-11: Afghanistan: sectarian suicide attack on Shi'ites killed ≥80 people VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters 65
22-Dec-11 REL VIO Scott Bobb Israel Tries Tougher Stance Against Right-Wing Jewish Violence Israel: violence by right-wing Jews targeting mosques and Christian holy places have increased VOA News 66
26-Dec-11 VIO REL Nigeria: 3 churches are targets of bomb attacks; Vatican condemns ‘absurd hatred’ Nigeria: Christmas bomb attacks targeting churches killed ≥35 people; Boko Haram, an Islamist group, is suspected  CatholicCulture.org 67
30-Dec-11 REL VIO S.L. Fides Special Feature: The Names Of Pastoral Workers, Bishops, Priests, Men And Women Religious And Lay Catholics, Killed In The Year 2011 Agenzia Fides: during 2011, 26 Catholic pastoral care workers were killed: 18 priests, 4 religious sisters, 4 lay people; 15 were killed in America, 6 in Africa, 4 in Asia, and one in Europe Agenzia Fides 68
31-Dec-11 GOV POL REL Vania Andre Muslim Leaders Boycott Bloomberg's Annual Interfaith Breakfast Muslim leaders boycott Mayor Bloomberg's annual interfaith breakfast because, according to the leaders, he supports police surveillance of Muslims at ~250 mosques, schools, and businesses in NYC AllMediaNY.com 69