Of an estimated 200,000 prisoners in North Korea, 70,000 of them are Christians, according to a recent report authored by the human rights watchdog Open Doors. For the 11th consecutive year, North Korea tops Open Doors' list of the worst countries for its brutal treatment of Christians.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman's praises for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during a basketball exhibition in the isolated country are commanding attention for their personal endorsement of Kim's rule. But while many are decrying Rodman's words as outrageous, North Korea's treatment of its Christian population is even more so, according to a recent report by a human rights watchdog.
Of an estimated 200,000 prisoners in North Korea, 70,000 of them are Christians, according to a recent report authored by the human rights watchdog Open Doors. For the 11th consecutive year, North Korea tops Open Doors' list of the worst countries for its brutal treatment of Christians.
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He was a soldier. He was a war hero. He was a priest. His Cause for Canonization is being considered by the Vatican. And now Fr. Emil Kapaun will receive the Medal of Honor from the President of the United States. Fr. Emil's heroic story will be told in the soon-to-be-released book "The Miracle of Father Kapaun," published by Ignatius Press. One of the most remarkable aspects of his story surrounds the atypical movement of support for both his sainthood cause and his Medal of Honor award. The witnesses to both his sanctity and his bravery have come from non-Catholics, men of Jewish faith, Muslim faith and Protestant tradition, who served with Fr. Kapaun in battle or in the brutality of conditions where he drew his last breath -- a prisoner of war camp. Persecution of Christians in North Korea shows no sign of abating under the country's new leader, Kim Jong-Un, according to a report by the worldwide ministry Open Doors. "The fanatical regime, which rules the destitute country of 24 million people with a proverbial iron fist, has a special hatred for Christians," Jerry Dykstra of the California-based Open Doors USA noted. "North Korea is in a league of its own when it comes to persecution of Christians." On Saturday, February 16th, Steven Mosher will be exposing the reality and dangers of sex-selective abortion as part of a Symposium at Regent University Law School, in Virginia Beach, VA. Mosher, who is the President of the Population Research Institute, is an internationally recognized authority on demographics and population issues. Mosher first encountered Sex-Selective Abortion in China, where it has reached epidemic proportions as a result of pressures generated by the one-child policy. Up to 100 million girls are missing from the populations of China, India, Korea and Vietnam because of this practice. Mosher will present recent statistical and anecdotal evidence that this practice has reached America's shores. UK Parliamentarians Call for UN Commission of Inquiry into Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea1/22/2013 Members of the House of Lords debated the security, humanitarian and human rights situation in North Korea yesterday, and called on the United Kingdom to support proposals for an international inquiry into crimes against humanity in North Korea.
The debate, introduced by Lord Alton of Liverpool, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea, included a detailed discussion of North Korea’s human rights record highlighting, among other violations, systematic persecution of Christians and other abuses of freedom of religion or belief, as well as executions, forced abortions and torture. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, yesterday called for an international inquiry into serious human rights violations in North Korea, stressing that concerns about the country’s nuclear programme must not be allowed to overshadow the “deplorable” human rights situation of its people. While the upcoming North Korea missile launch has the entire world looking skyward, author Eric Foley says attention should focus underground.
"By underground I don't mean subterranean nuclear tests," explains Foley. "I mean the continued faithful witness of 100,000 underground North Korean Christians to the truth that God, not Kim Il Sung, has always been, is, and always will be in control in North Korea." Christians Still Suffering Intense Persecution in North Korea One Year After Leadership Change12/4/2012 |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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