Christians in Egypt tread carefully after hope turns to fear following Arab Spring. The Salam Center, run by the Daughters of St.
Mary, an order of Coptic Orthodox nuns, is located very close to a Cairo dump. Most of the city’s garbage collectors are Christians. A little more than a year ago, as the Arab Spring swept through North Africa, people in the region began experiencing a taste of freedom. That was certainly true in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, where Egyptian Muslims and Christians celebrated the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak, who had been in power for more than 30 years. But for Christians in Egypt, the elation didn’t last long. “Christians are still considered second-class citizens in Egypt.”
Egypt has the largest Christian population in the Arab World, about 10 percent of the nation’s 85 million people. While you see churches in many places around Cairo, there is almost always a minaret right in front of the church or right around the corner. Christianity has a long history in Egypt, dating back to the Apostle St. What does that mean for Christians? Do Crosses at Catholic University Violate “Human Rights” of Muslims? The Washington, D.C.
Office of Human Rights confirmed that it is investigating allegations that Catholic University violated the human rights of Muslim students by not allowing them to form a Muslim student group and by not providing them rooms without Christian symbols for their daily prayers. The investigation alleges that Muslim students “must perform their prayers surrounded by symbols of Catholicism – e.g., a wooden crucifix, paintings of Jesus, pictures of priests and theologians which many Muslim students find inappropriate.” A spokesperson for the Office of Human Rights told Fox News they had received a 60-page complaint against the private university. The investigation, they said, could take as long a six months. The complaint was filed by John Banzhaf, an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
A spokesman for Catholic University released a statement to Fox News indicating they had not seen any legal filings — but would respond once they do. Changes to Roman Catholic Mass Will Surprise Majority in the Pews, Survey Says. In many ways, Nicky Gautier is a model Roman Catholic.
The Charlottesville, Va., resident attends Mass every Sunday, has enrolled her daughter in Catholic school, is active in her parish's social life and considers herself to be "very religious. " Yet despite her strong church connections, Gautier, 36, was surprised when she recently learned that a significantly altered Roman Missal, the "call and response" guide to the words said by priests and congregants during Mass, would go into effect this fall. "We were talking about the Mass and my friend was wondering how they were going to bring it about and what would be different, but I remember feeling completely clueless," said Gautier. "I said, 'What do you mean they are going to change the Mass?
'" Since changes were approved by the Vatican in December, U.S. bishops have been preparing priests and lay Catholics for the first use of the revised missal on Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent. The pope draws 1.5 million young people to Madrid – but that's not news? If I were a Catholic, I would be feeling rather pissed off with the BBC.
The news bulletin in this morning's Today programme carried an report of the pope's visit to Madrid that concentrated entirely on the "thousands" of protestors against the visit. It did not once mention World Youth Day, the extraordinary global Catholic gathering that the pope is also visiting. That has brought something like 1.5 million young people from around the world to the Spanish capital to greet him. Whether or not you approve of this, it is important and – above all – newsworthy simply because it is unexpected and goes against the grain of what the media tell us.
So why is it not reported? One might think this is an instance of consciously anti-Catholic bias and perhaps it is. Journalists are almost inevitably sensitive to fashion in ideas, in part because their own fates and careers depend so heavily on it. Of course this demonstration is news. Numbers don't prove truth, of course.