Myanmar Sentences Baptist Leader to 6 Years in Prison

Myanmar’s military junta sentenced Hkalam Samson, the former head of the Kachin Baptist Convention, to six years in prison on charges of terrorism, unlawful association, and inciting opposition. Hkalam denies the charges, which international rights groups and the Kachin diaspora believe to be politically motivated. - APRIL 10, 2023 10:00 AM

After unrest at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel curtails freedom of worship for Christians

The Israeli government, already criticized the world over for its brutal handling of Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, appears to be bent on proving that it is an equal opportunity violator of religious freedom. The Netanyahu administration is now being accused of violating the Christian faithful’s right of worship. The Israeli authorities are imposing restrictions on how many Palestinian Christians, a large number of whom are Orthodox, can attend the annual Holy Fire ceremony held on Saturday.

April 13, 2023 By Daoud Kuttab

 Presbyterian Church of Australia calls for right to ban LGBTQ+ and sexually active student leaders

The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, says students’ leadership qualities shouldn’t be tied to their sexuality as a major church group calls for the right to exclude gay pupils from roles like school captain.

In a submission to a review of anti-discrimination laws, the Presbyterian Church of Australia argued for the right to exclude students from leadership positions if they were in a same-sex relationship or having pre-marital sex. 16 April 2023

 

Christians are in danger under Israeli government, says Holy Land patriarch

The head of the Roman Catholic church in the Holy Land has warned in an interview that Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has made life worse for Christians in the birthplace of Christianity.

The Vatican-appointed Latin Patriarch, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said that the region’s 2,000-year-old Christian community has come under increasing attack, with the most rightwing government in Israel’s history emboldening extremists who have harassed clergy and vandalised religious property at a quickening pace.- 16 April 2023

The Dalai Lama is facing backlash for kissing a child on the lips and then asking the same child to “suck his tongue” at an event in northern India.

 

In the video, the young boy can be seen approaching the Nobel Peace Prize winner before asking, “Can I hug you?” The 87-year-old spiritual leader then invites the boy on stage and points to his cheek and says, “first here,” prompting the boy to give him a hug and a kiss. The Dalai Lama then points to his lips, and says: “then I think finally here also.” He then pulls the boy’s chin and kisses him on the mouth. “And suck my tongue,” he says after a few seconds, poking his tongue out.

The Dalai Lama has apologized after the video circulated on social media.  

 

In a statement Monday, the office for the Dalai Lama said he “wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused,” adding he “regrets” the incident. “His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” the statement said.

Many have criticised the Dalai Lama over the incident, which was called out in reactions online as being “inappropriate” and “disgusting”. Some commentators and victims’ groups have compared the spiritual leader’s conduct to “child abuse”

Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong (political leader) of the exiled Central Tibetan Administration, said the Dalai Lama had been “unfairly labeled with all kinds of names that really hurt the sentiment of all his followers

 

Question: Was this an isolated innocent incident or child abuse? Or Is this a Tibetan traditions like some claim it is? or is His Holiness being protected by his supporters?

 

Guest: Ngodup Dorjee, Represents the Office of Tibet in South Africa

Interview an author of: EmPOWERed: Transmu1ng Limi1ng Beliefs into Stepping Stones to Build the Life I Love

Through this book, Thule seeks to inspire and empower humanity to disentangle themselves from limi1ng beliefs, forgive their past and inten1onally design, create and live their best lives. She takes us on a journey of personal transforma1on from viewing yourself as a vic1m of your circumstances to becoming an empowered version of yourself in which you are a deliberate creator of the life you would love to live.

The book begins with a story of awakening: an account of how one experiences a life- defining childhood wound which defines the way we see ourselves; then our Higher Power prods us to take steps to heal that wound so that we can begin the process of defining our own dream life. This is followed by the process in which we define our dreamlife in all the four domains of our lives: Health & Wellbeing; Love & Rela1onships; Voca1on; Time & Money Freedom.

With our life’s vision clearly defined, Thule then teaches us how we uproot the “weeds “that could threaten to choke the seed of building our dream life. These include building a sense of deserving; cul1va1ng an abundance mindset; befriending your fear and Forgiveness. Next is how we build a mindset that will nurture our dream so that it con1nues to thrive. This part of the book focusses on how we show up daily with an empowered mindset that enables us to build our dreamlife. The focus is on how to nurture the partnership with our Higher Power as He empowers us to build our dreams and liSers some synchronici1es in our path that enable the results we are seeking.

Finally the last chapter defines the full journey of our transforma1on, who we started as to who we have now become as part of walking this journey. As long as we are live we con1nue on the transforma1on, therefore the journey mapped out in the book is life long, we encounter difficulty, we have to be inten1onal in healing wounds that result from that difficulty, we the con1nue to embark on the process of building our dreamlife.

Thule’s palpable belief is that within each one of us is the same seed of greatness that grows an acorn from a seed into a massive oak tree. The book seeks to inspire you to find,
nurture and bloom that seed into your own kind of beau1ful, your own upward spiral of becoming.

Guest on the line: Thuleleni Gcanga -  Author of EmPOWERed