Gurgi Mosque seen through the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, in Tripoli, Libya. (Image: Z El Baz/Unsplash.com)
Tripoli, Libya, Apr 18, 2023 / 08:23 am (CNA).
Last week Libya’s Internal Security Agency launched a campaign in the city of Tripoli to arrest Libyan citizens and foreigners accused of apostasy from Islam and preaching Christianity.
The security agency did not specify the number of those arrested and refrained from publishing their names, stating only their initials.
The agency released a video of six Libyans — including a girl — as well as a Pakistani and two Americans with their faces blocked out in which they confess to the charges.
The two Americans worked at the Gateway International School in the Tripoli suburb of Zawiyat al-Dahmani that specializes in teaching English.
The government agency said that the two Americans and the wife of one of them belonged to the Assemblies of God Christian missionary organization. It was not revealed whether the wife was arrested or not.
The Americans were accused of secretly turning the school into a center for preaching the Christian religion.
The Internal Security Agency noted that the organization to which the Americans belong plays an important role in “seducing Libyans in various ways” to deviate from the Islamic religion.
In an official press release, the agency stated: “The Libyan people are proud to belong to their religion and consider it the solid foundation of their unifying national identity and regard any violation or abuse of it as a hostile act that threatens national security and seek[s] to sow discord and disunity among its people and those who comprise it.”
The Internal Security Agency “is keen to monitor suspicious activities and appeals that threaten the Islamic identity of our society, including the crime of apostasy and incitement to it.”
“Attacking our true religion is no different from acts of extremism and terrorism, and through monitoring and investigation, the agency monitored the rise in activities hostile to true Islam, targeting our youth of both sexes, many of whom left the country,” the statement said.
A member of the Supreme Council of State and the Political Dialogue Committee in Libya, Salem Musa Madi, announced on his Facebook page that his son Sifaw had been abducted in Tripoli on March 26. On April 6, he reported that he was apprehended by the Internal Security Agency on charges of converting to Christianity.
Open Doors reported that the current number of Christians in Libya is 35,400 (0.5% of the population).
Its report for the year 2023, which covers the period from Oct. 1, 2021, to the end of September 2022, indicates that 200 Christians were subjected to physical and psychological violence during that period, 19 Christians were kidnapped, and another 15 were arrested.
Eight Christian installations, including churches, were attacked either directly or in their environs.
Libya ranks fifth on the organization’s list of countries where Christians face the greatest persecution.
In its detailed report on Libya, the organization also draws attention to the great influence of the Turkey-Qatar axis, which supports political Islam, especially in Tripoli and the country’s west.
Political Islam replaces the laws or interprets them differently so that they restrict the practice of other religions. It also works to change the culture of society — which puts it under great pressure — so that it becomes more radical and extreme, not only toward other religions but also toward other Islamic sects.
The Internal Security Agency statement confirmed that the accused were transferred to the Office of the Public Prosecutor and thus face the risk of execution.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by ACI Prensa and CNA.
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Catholics recognize Easter — when Christ rises from the dead after sacrificing his life for all of humanity — as the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. But, as it turns out, they can continue saying “Happy Easter” into June.
Easter lasts for a total of 50 days, from Easter Sunday until the feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles, Mary, and the first followers of Christ.
This year, 2022, Easter runs from April 17 until June 5.
Easter explained
Catholics observe Easter in different stages. Easter Sunday is the greatest Sunday of the year, and it marks the start of the “Easter Octave,” or the eight days that stretch from the first to the second Sunday of Easter (also known as Divine Mercy Sunday). The Church celebrates each of these eight days as Solemnities of the Lord — a direct extension of Easter Sunday.
The entire Easter season lasts 50 days, and includes the Solemnity of the Ascension of Christ, which falls on the 40th day of Easter, which this year is May 26. It ends with Pentecost, which is derived from the Greek word “pentecoste,” meaning “50th.”
“The fifty days from the Sunday of the Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday are celebrated in joy and exultation as one feast day, indeed as one ‘great Sunday,’” according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “These are the days above all others in which the Alleluia is sung.”
The USCCB calls Easter “the most important of all liturgical times.”
“It celebrates Jesus’s victory of sin and death and salvation for mankind,” the U.S. bishops say. “It is God’s greatest act of love to redeem mankind.”
In the traditional Roman rite
In the traditional form of the Roman rite, Easter is known properly as Paschaltide, which includes three parts: the season of Easter, Ascensiontide, and the Octave of Pentecost. It thus lasts one week longer than the Easter season in the calendar of the Missal of St. Paul VI.
The season of Easter begins with the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, and runs through the afternoon of the Vigil of the Ascension.
Ascensiontide begins the evening before the Ascension, with First Vespers of the feast, and ends the afternoon of the Vigil of Pentecost – marking the first novena.
The Octave of Pentecost is an extension of the feast of Pentecost, beginning with the Vigil Mass of Pentecost and ending the afternoon of the following Saturday, which this year falls June 11.
Leon is a baby boy cared for and loved at Mary’s Shelter, a pro-life maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. / Courtesy of Mary’s Shelter
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 24, 2022 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Amid a shortage of baby formula in the U.S., experts recommend parents scour smaller drug stores, check online, and join social media groups sharing information.
But here’s another, perhaps lesser-known, option they can also turn to for help: pregnancy resource centers.
Nearly 3,000 pro-life pregnancy centers serve millions of people each year in the United States. They offer women and parents in need everything from health care and material assistance to educational classes and job support — at little to no cost. Right now, for many of these centers, their work also includes connecting struggling families to baby formula.
One center in Michigan, an affiliate of Heartbeat International, a pro-life pregnancy resource center network, revealed to CNA that it has a surplus of formula.
“At this time, we haven’t heard of formula shortages at the pregnancy centers,” Andrea Trudden, vice president of communications and marketing at Heartbeat International, told CNA. “Quite the contrary, actually!”
Trudden recommended families turn to their local pregnancy help organizations for assistance and use OptionLine.org as a tool to find the center closest to them.
“Since pregnancy centers are equipped to help pregnant women and new families with practical resources such as diapers and formula,” Trudden said, “they have been able to step into that gap during this time.”
Some pro-life maternity homes in states such as Virginia and North Carolina said mothers are in desperate need and exploring all of their options, including feeding their babies with formula samples. But, these homes tell CNA, they are walking with mothers in their search, every step of the way.
What is this shortage about?
The nationwide baby formula shortage was caused, and then exacerbated, by a series of factors: supply-chain issues, recalls, the closure of a major production plant in February, and even U.S. trade policy. The result, data-firm company Datasembly found, is that more than 40 percent of baby formulas were out of stock in early May.
Babies with special needs and allergies rely on formula, along with babies in general. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 63.3% of infants were exclusively breastfeeding seven days after birth in 2018. Three months after birth, only 46.3% of infants exclusively breastfed. Six months after birth, that percentage changed to 25.8%
The trouble with formula began partially with the Covid-19 pandemic. Parents stockpiled baby formula at the beginning, which increased production, only to later discover that they had a surplus to use up, which decreased production.
After consuming formula from an Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, four babies became sick, including two who died, from bacterial infections. This led to a recall and the plant shutting down in February.
These incidents exposed the formula market as one not structurally prepared for emergencies, with just four companies largely in control of supply in the United States. U.S. and regulatory trade policy only added to the problem, restricting the exchange of formula internationally, The Atlantic reported.
Months into the shortage, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached an agreement with Abbott, one of the largest U.S. baby formula manufacturers, to reopen its Sturgis plant in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to prioritize the production of formula. And, in the meantime, the U.S. military has begun importing formula from Europe.
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for action. Senate Democrats are pushing a bill that would send $28 million in emergency funding to the FDA. Congress passed, and Biden signed into law, a bill to expand access to formula for lower-income families during emergencies.
In the meantime, before the shelves are fully stocked once more, pregnancy centers and maternity homes around the country are helping parents in need.
“I have never seen this much formula. We have an overflow!” Lois Stoll, a volunteer who manages the formula supply at the center, said in a press release. The center, one of Heartbeat International’s 1,857 affiliate locations, accumulated its surplus over the last two years, during the pandemic.
“It really is the result of an unexpected set of circumstances,” Bryce Asberg, the executive director, added in the release. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of clients fell but donations continued to come in.”
Baby formula is stored on shelves at Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center in Hillsdale, Michigan. Courtesy of Helping Hands
Asberg told CNA that the center has been running a material assistance program for several years where it provides mothers and families with baby clothes, diapers, wipes, and baby food or formula.
“We still offer all those items to clients who come in, but recently we have noticed a surge of interest in formula,” he said. “God has been building our supply of formula for many months, and we didn’t know why we had so much. Now we do!”
Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., Janet Durig, the executive director of Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, said that her center also has baby formula on hand.
“We’ve had some phone calls seeking help and we’ve had formula to give them,” she told CNA. But, she emphasized, the supply is limited because they rely on donations.
“We have it to help people on a limited basis and are helping people on a limited basis,” she said, adding that the center welcomes donations of unopened bottles or cans of formula as long as they have not expired.
Connecticut
Leticia Velasquez, executive director and co-founder of Pathways Pregnancy in Norwich, Connecticut, encouraged moms and families to reach out if they need formula.
She told CNA that the three-year-old center is there for any woman or mom in need.
“We just say, ‘How can we fill the need? That’s what we’re here for,’” she said. “We definitely stand with them in any crisis, whether it be a formula shortage or an unplanned pregnancy.”
Parents in eastern Connecticut looking for baby formula can text the center at (860) 222-4505.
North Carolina
Debbie Capen, the executive director of MiraVia, said that the baby formula shortage is affecting her group’s work in supporting and providing resources to new moms in need. The Catholic nonprofit runs an outreach center in Charlotte and a free college residence at nearby Belmont Abbey College where a pregnant student — from any university or college — can stay until her child turns two years old.
“Yes, the mothers we serve are very concerned about the baby formula shortage,” Capen told CNA. “We always encourage breastfeeding for our expectant mothers, but for those who cannot breastfeed, they usually rely on vouchers for baby formula through the USDA’s WIC program.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s WIC program, also known as the “Special Supplementation Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children,” offers federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, and young children at nutritional risk.
Capen highlighted that WIC only covers one specific brand of formula, which means that moms must pay full price for any other label. Formula is at a premium price right now, she added, which only puts more stress on their limited resources.
In each state, baby formula manufacturers bid for exclusive rights to provide formula to WIC participants in that state. In return, they offer the state discounts, or rebates. For those who rely on WIC, this means that they face limited options.
In response to the scarcity, the mothers at MiraVia are turning to alternatives: food pantries and the MiraVia community.
“They communicate with our staff and each other when they find formula at a certain location, as well as contact stores to find out when shipments are expected,” Capen said. “They substitute with generic brands when possible and reach out to their pediatricians for recommendations and even free samples.”
Capen listed some ways that people can help during this shortage, beginning with communication and the sharing of resources.
“For example, you can help by searching posts on social media and community apps like NextDoor or OfferUp to find those with formula and suggest where it can be donated,” she said. “Remind friends and family not to stockpile so that the supply of formula can flow to those in most urgent need. If you are pregnant and have received free samples of formula, donate what you won’t use to food pantries or programs for new mothers.”
Virginia
Kathleen Wilson, the executive director of Mary’s Shelter, a faith-centered maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, agreed that “our moms have had many difficulties.”
She told CNA about one of their mothers who gave birth to her fourth baby three months ago. At first, she used a formula brand called Enfamil Reguline. After it became unavailable, she began switching between brands and using whatever she can find, Wilson said. The mother has also tried ordering on Amazon and turned to her pediatrician for samples.
Yaretzi is a baby girl cared for and loved at Mary’s Shelter, a pro-life maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Courtesy of Mary’s Shelter
“This is a mom who is trying to hold down a job, with an infant and other children to tend to,” Wilson stressed the “very difficult” situation.
Wilson said that two of the other mothers spent days driving around at one point to try to find formula for their babies. When necessary, they are also turning to sample packets of baby formula.
“Our staff and volunteers have been assisting with this and picking up and delivering formula when they can get their hands on it,” Wilson said, adding that donors have also pitched in.
“We are blessed with wonderful donors,” she said. “A friend just stopped in this morning with two cans of formula that he was able to find.”
“If donors are willing and can find formula, we would be thrilled to take their donation,” she said, concluding that she is “praying this comes to an end soon.”
So much for interreligious dialogue rooted in our universal “restless heart.” (Not to be confused with a so-called “pluralism” of religions).
But, take Mahmoud Ayoub, a professor of Islamic Studies in Philadelphia. His essays are collected in “A Muslim View of Christianity (Irfan A Omar, ed., 2007). Ayoub cites the Muslim theologian-philosopher Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149-1210 A,D.). Al-Razi arrives unsuspecting at a tipping point very similar to the “eureka” of Archimedes….He writes:
“It therefore follows that everything other than God is created in time, and hence preceded by nonbeing. This also means that all things came into being through God’s creative act and His power of bringing things from nonbeing to being. From this it follows that everything other than God is His slave and possession. IT IS THEREFORE IMPOSSIBLE THT ANYTHING OTHER THAN HE IS HIS OFFSPRING (caps added).
Only a half-step from mystery of the self-revealing Trinity where the distinct Father and Son are also One. Even Plato missed by a half-step, the Incarnation. And then, is there Muhammad himself (!) who, probably two years before his death, in the Qur’an also seems to come close: “If the Merciful had a son, I would be the first to adore him” (Q 43:81)?
Despite its post-pagan monotheism, early Islam still assimilated a few things pagan. One of these is jihad warrior code (like Bushido) and another is the predisposition to dismiss the Triune One as simply another pagan triad. What to do or say when Trinitarian Christianity is viewed subconsciously through a pagan filter? And, when the 21st century is confronted by both (a) radical Secularism in the West, and (b) a 7th-century, and very monolithic and cosmically remote monotheism?
To repeat a key insight about a loving God absolutely transcendent and immanent, both, this from von Balthasar:
“The responses of the Old Testament and a fortiori of Islam (which remains essentially in the enclosure of the religion of Israel) are incapable of giving a satisfactory answer to the question of why Yahweh, why Allah, created a world of which he did not have need in order to be God. ONLY THE FACT IS AFFIRMED IN THE TWO RELIGIONS, NOT THE WHY [italics in the original]. The Christian response is contained in these two fundamental dogmas: that of the Trinity and that of the Incarnation” (“My Life in Retrospect,” Ignatius, 1993).
Any purported religion that must be spread and maintained by the sword is obviously false. Error can’t win in the fight against truth in a level playing field.
That said, the attitude isn’t necessarily wrong. The Catholic Church teaches the true religion, and in the past heresy was a strong concern of Catholic governments.
So much for interreligious dialogue rooted in our universal “restless heart.” (Not to be confused with a so-called “pluralism” of religions).
But, take Mahmoud Ayoub, a professor of Islamic Studies in Philadelphia. His essays are collected in “A Muslim View of Christianity (Irfan A Omar, ed., 2007). Ayoub cites the Muslim theologian-philosopher Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149-1210 A,D.). Al-Razi arrives unsuspecting at a tipping point very similar to the “eureka” of Archimedes….He writes:
“It therefore follows that everything other than God is created in time, and hence preceded by nonbeing. This also means that all things came into being through God’s creative act and His power of bringing things from nonbeing to being. From this it follows that everything other than God is His slave and possession. IT IS THEREFORE IMPOSSIBLE THT ANYTHING OTHER THAN HE IS HIS OFFSPRING (caps added).
Only a half-step from mystery of the self-revealing Trinity where the distinct Father and Son are also One. Even Plato missed by a half-step, the Incarnation. And then, is there Muhammad himself (!) who, probably two years before his death, in the Qur’an also seems to come close: “If the Merciful had a son, I would be the first to adore him” (Q 43:81)?
Despite its post-pagan monotheism, early Islam still assimilated a few things pagan. One of these is jihad warrior code (like Bushido) and another is the predisposition to dismiss the Triune One as simply another pagan triad. What to do or say when Trinitarian Christianity is viewed subconsciously through a pagan filter? And, when the 21st century is confronted by both (a) radical Secularism in the West, and (b) a 7th-century, and very monolithic and cosmically remote monotheism?
To repeat a key insight about a loving God absolutely transcendent and immanent, both, this from von Balthasar:
“The responses of the Old Testament and a fortiori of Islam (which remains essentially in the enclosure of the religion of Israel) are incapable of giving a satisfactory answer to the question of why Yahweh, why Allah, created a world of which he did not have need in order to be God. ONLY THE FACT IS AFFIRMED IN THE TWO RELIGIONS, NOT THE WHY [italics in the original]. The Christian response is contained in these two fundamental dogmas: that of the Trinity and that of the Incarnation” (“My Life in Retrospect,” Ignatius, 1993).
Speak to the scimitar.
Any purported religion that must be spread and maintained by the sword is obviously false. Error can’t win in the fight against truth in a level playing field.
That said, the attitude isn’t necessarily wrong. The Catholic Church teaches the true religion, and in the past heresy was a strong concern of Catholic governments.
Hillary says, “I did that!” Very proud to kill Gadaffi and replace a secular tyrant with an Islamic tyrant. The Obama plan for a superior world.
Substitute a few words like “pagan” for “Christian” and “American” for “Lybian”, and one can easily see universal principles at work.
Godspeed, martyrs.