RELIGION HEADLINES WED 9-3-25

Audio By Carbonatix

(SRN NEWS)-(  )  Iraq continues to rebuild, a decade after ISIS took control of large portions of the country.  In the northern city of Mosul, war-damaged churches have been rebuilt in an effort to preserve the heritage of the city’s shrinking Christian population. Most of Mosul’s small population of believers fled when ISIS launched its offensive in 2014.  Before the invasion the city’s Christian population stood at around 50,000.  Today, fewer than 20 Christian families remain as permanent residents, although some who resettled in the semi-autonomous Kurdish area of northern Iraq still return to Mosul for church services.

(  )  The Trump administration is seeking United Nations authorization for a “Gang Suppression Force” to help tackle violence in Haiti.  That country has seen escalating violence with gangs controlling most of the capital now.  Kidnappings are common and Christian missionaries are a particular target.  In 2021, a gang abducted 17 missionaries, including five children, from a U.S.-based organization in a community east of the capital. The majority were held captive for more than two months.  An Irish missionary and a three-year-old child were among a group of eight kidnapped people who were freed in Haiti last month.

(  )  Belgium says it is planning to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, but only if Hamas is removed from power in Gaza and all Israeli hostages are freed.  One leading Belgian lawmaker tells the Jewish News Service that these stipulations mean that his country will not be recognizing a Palestinian state in the near term.  Several other countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia and Canada plan to announce their formal approval of an independent Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York next week.  Israeli officials says there can be no Palestinian state without Israel’s approval.

(  )  In the wake of last month’s deadly shooting at a Catholic church in Minnesota, dioceses around the country are looking to their security arrangements.  Catholic leaders in the archdioceses of Los Angeles and Chicago have ordered all schools to go over their safety plans and ensure that churches and chapels are included.  Protestant churches and other houses of worship have also been put on notice by the Minnesota shooting and are making changes.  The Trump administration is making money available for congregations to upgrade their security in a number of ways, including with the installation of cameras and bullet-proof glass.