#MiniBulletin : Birth of Jesus shows God has bowed down to be with us, Pope tells audience

“The birth of Jesus is the demonstration that God placed Himself once and for all on the side of mankind,” Pope Francis told his general audience on December 18.

Because of the Incarnation, the Pope said, “earth is no longer merely a ‘vale of tears’ but rather the place where God Himself has pitched his tent.”

The arrival of the Messiah is astonishing, the Pope said, because it “did not take place in an ideal, idyllic world, but rather in this real world, characterized by good and bad things, marked by divisions, evil, poverty, abuse of power, and wars.” With the Nativity, Pope Francis continued, God “shows Himself to be not one who remains on high and dominates the universe, but rather He Who bows down.” Jesus, he said, is truly “God-with-us.”

— taken from http://www.visnews-en.blogspot.sg/2013/12/last-audience-of-2013-birth-of-jesus.html —

#MiniBulletin : Iraq declares Christmas a holiday in bid to support Christian minority

In a new and important step towards the Christian minority, The government of Iraq has declared Christmas Day a national holiday at 25 December as an official day of celebration and a national holiday for all of the country’s citizens, in a gesture of support for the country’s embattled religious minority.

 

The government announced the holiday as a show of “solidarity” with Christians, who have seen their community dwindle in strength during the past decade. The action came in response to a request from Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Raphael Louis I Sako, who had suggested making December 25 “a day of rest for all Iraqis.”

The Chaldean Patriarch had asked for an official recognition of the holy day. Sako said that “Jesus did not come just for Christians, but for everyone”; he also emphasizes the “special respect” Muslims have for Jesus. The recognition is a new and important step for a long-persecuted minority.

— taken from http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Iraqi-government-declares-Christmas-a-‘national-holiday’-29882.html —

#MiniBulletin : Indonesian Christians brace for attacks at Christmas

Indonesian police and some Muslim volunteers are cooperating with Christians to protect churches and worshippers from attacks at Christmas, the Fides news service reports.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has announced that there are reports of Islamic militants planning assaults on Christian targets during the Christmas season. The threat level is especially high in Sumatra.

On Sumatra, a major resort hotel in Banda Aceh has canceled plans for New Year’s Eve parties, the AsiaNews service reports. The hotel took action after a local Islamic council said that Christmas and New Year’s Day should not be celebrated because they are not Muslim holidays.

— taken from http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Banda-Aceh,-Islamic-extremists-prohibit-New-Year-celebrations-29891.html —