AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* TIBET LOOKS FOR A NEW SPIRITUAL LEADER AS DALAI LAMA AGES

* CHRISTIANS IN BETHLEHEM FACE MUSLIM INTIMIDATION

* BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT TO RE-EDUCATE ITS HOMOPHOBIC CITIZENS

* PRESIDENT OBAMA STARTS PROCESS OF REMOVING DOCTORS' PROTECTIONS ON ABORTIONS

* LANDSLIDE VOTE IN FAVOUR OF KEEPING IN GOD WE TRUST ON US CURRENCY

* IRANIAN YOUTH PROTEST FOR FREEDOM AS GOVERNMENT GOES INTO LOCKDOWN MODE

TIBET LOOKS FOR A NEW SPIRITUAL LEADER AS DALAI LAMA AGES

Like his 16 previous incarnations, this Karmapa Lama has spent his life immersed in the Tibetan Buddhist arts of meditation, study and prayer. Unlike them, he likes to relax playing war games on his PlayStation. This blend of ancient spiritual authority and modern-day tastes is fuelling expectations that the 23-year-old monk, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the No. 3 lama in Tibetan Buddhism, will emerge as the public voice for the next generation of Tibetans in their struggle for freedom from China.

With the Dalai Lama now 73 and increasingly frail, Tibetans must face the fact that he will eventually die, leaving them without anyone to plead their case before the world and keep them united. It’s a role that the Karmapa, the head of the Karma Kagyu sect, one of the four streams of Tibetan Buddhism, is now willing to take. “If given the opportunity, I will do my best,” he said in a rare interview with a small group of Western journalists. But to do so, he will have to surmount bitter sectarian disputes and geopolitical rivalries between China and India, Asia’s two superpowers.

He will also have to come to terms with his own contradictions – the holy man spreading the wisdom of Buddha and the restless young man who zones out to hip-hop on his iPod. Dorje’s status has long been recognized by the Dalai Lama and Beijing, which hoped he might emerge as a more malleable authority than the current Dalai Lama. But Chinese hopes were dashed when he escaped Tibet at age 14, saying he could not get the religious education he needed.

He jumped from his monastery room window, made a treacherous eight-day journey by jeep, foot and horseback past Chinese border posts, across a 5,380m high Himalayan pass into Nepal and finally by helicopter to India, the Dalai Lama’s home in exile. He was the most important Tibetan figure to defect since the Dalai Lama fled after an abortive anti-Chinese uprising in 1959. The Karmapa’s daring escape made him a hero to the exiles, particularly the younger generation which has grown weary of the Dalai Lama’s insistence on dialogue and compromise with China.

Dorje downplays his current contacts with Beijing. “Now I’m in India. I am a free man. I have no reason to connect myself to China,” he said. Yet he is not entirely free. India, which gives sanctuary to the Tibetan exiles, is fearful of further antagonizing China. At first, the Karmapa was restricted to the top floor of a monastery in a small village near the Dalai Lama’s headquarters. While India gradually loosened the restrictions, he is still barred from travelling to the Rumtek Monastery, his order’s seat in exile, located near the Chinese border.

Discussing his confinement, he displayed his growing diplomatic skills, praising India for hosting the Tibetan exiles whilst also expressing his “very personal” frustrations. “Sometimes I feel like a prisoner under house arrest.” he said Like the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama, he opposes violence. Once the Dalai Lama is gone, the process of choosing a young boy as his reincarnation means decades may pass before the new Dalai Lama is ready to assume the leadership. That would leave the Karmapa as the most senior Tibetan Buddhist leader in exile.

Rivalry between the different sects could prevent him replacing the Dalai Lama, but he could act as a spiritual guide during the transition. It is unclear whether he might push for full independence, as younger Tibetans would like, or be more conciliatory with China. “The Dalai Lama has been very successful in laying the foundation for the Tibetan struggle in exile,” was all the young lama would say. “It is for the next generation to build on this and take it forward.”

Source: Intercessors Network

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CHRISTIANS IN BETHLEHEM FACE MUSLIM INTIMIDATION

Christian families have long complained of intimidation and land theft by Muslims, especially those working for the Palestinian Authority. Christians in Bethlehem and nearby towns have repeatedly complained that Muslims have seized their lands by force or through forged documents. In recent years the number of Christians has continued to dwindle, even as Bethlehem and its surrounding areas have became hotbeds for Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters and members. Several Christian women in the areas have complained about verbal and sexual assaults by Muslim men.

Christian businessmen complain of being forced to shut down their businesses because they can no longer afford to pay "protection" money to local Muslim gangs. Whilst the Palestinian Authority does not officially persecute Christians, it is also true that they have not done enough to give the Christian population a sense of security and stability. Christians continue to be discriminated when it comes to employment in the public sector. Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority 15 years ago, not a single Christian has been appointed to a senior security post.

Although Bethlehem has a Christian mayor, the governor, who is more senior than him, remains a Muslim. Christians living in the West Bank and Jerusalem also face threats and assaults from Muslims. For decades, the issue of relations between Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land has been treated by Palestinians as taboo. Most Palestinians ignore the fact that relations between the Muslim majority and the tiny 10% Christian minority have been deteriorating for the past 15 years. The number of Christians leaving Bethlehem and other towns appears to be on the rise.

Today, Christians in Bethlehem constitute less than 15% of the population whereas five or six decades ago, the Christians living in the birthplace of Jesus made up more than 70% of the population. Israel's security measures in the West Bank have made living conditions more difficult for all Palestinians, Christians and Muslims alike. But to say that these measures are the sole, or even main, reason for the Christian exodus from the Holy Land is misleading. It is also incorrect to assume that the Christians are leaving only because they are afraid of their Muslim neighbours.

Some Christians are leaving because of the poor economy, and because they no longer feel secure in their homes. But most of themare leaving because they find it easier to merge into Christian-dominated societies in the US, Canada, EU and Latin America, where many already have relatives and friends. In fact, Christians began leaving the Holy Land long before Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. But the number of those moving to the US and Canada has sharply increased since the Palestinian Authority took control over Bethlehem and other Palestinian communities.

Source: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission

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BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT TO RE-EDUCATE ITS HOMOPHOBIC CITIZENS

The strongly pro-homosexual Brazilian government has determined that 99% of its citizens are "homophobic," and must be re-educated. The results are from a study that tested for "homophobia" by asking people to comment on such statements as "God made men and women with different sexes so that they could fulfil their role and have children." The 92% of Brazilians who agreed with the statement were labelled "homophobic." Another test question for "homophobia" was, "Homosexuality is a sin against the laws of God." Fifty-eight percent of Brazilians agreed.

Those who agreed that "Homosexuality is an illness that should be treated" (41%) were also labelled "homophobic," as were those who objected to homosexuals kissing and hugging in public (64%). According to Brazilian newspaper O Globo, Brazil's federal government will use the data "to plan new policies, and warns that it has now detected a dark consequence of so much prejudice: intolerance." The study was performed by an organization linked to the socialist Labor Party, which currently occupies the nation's executive branch and predominates in the legislature.

"There's no way for the government not to involve itself, because intolerance must eventually manifest itself in crimes, including crimes committed by agents of the government," said Paulo Biagi, coordinator of the government's official "Brazil Without Homophobia" campaign. Biagi says that the government will now begin to "rearticulate" the case for its proposed "anti-homophobia" law, which would make it illegal to criticize homosexual behaviour in Brazil. In addition, the government will launch a National Plan for the Promotion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Citizens.

It will also soon initiate a television campaign to combat "homophobia" in conjunction with ten other Latin American countries. Brazilian pro-family activist Julio Severo said "What is surprising is how a population that is 99% against homosexuality is accepting passively that its 100% pro-homosexuality government is lifting homosexual acts to the level of inviolable sacredness. At the same time it is lowering 99% of Brazilians to the class of 'ignorant mob' that should be forcefully condemned to state policies of re-education."

Source: LifeSite News

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PRESIDENT OBAMA STARTS PROCESS OF REMOVING DOCTORS' PROTECTIONS ON ABORTIONS

The White House has quietly announced that President Barack Obama is starting the process of overturning protections President Bush put in place to make sure medical staff and centres are not forced to do abortions. The move will add to Obama's growing pro-abortion record. Federal laws already made it so doctors and hospitals were not required to perform abortions. Because those laws aren't always followed, the Bush administration added additional protections to require grantees to certify compliance with them in order to receive funds.

Abortion advocates complained about the new regulations. Obama officials said the administration will draft a new set of rules that will clarify, but also lessen, the protections health care workers enjoyed under the Bush rules. Three pro-life medical associations banded together last month to fight the lawsuit from abortion advocates and the pro-abortion state officials. Attorneys with the Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defence Fund filed motions to intervene in the matter.

An attorney with the Christian Legal Society, said that the rules are needed so medical professionals have the security of knowing they won't be pressured to participate in abortions. “Medical professionals should not be forced to perform abortions against their conscience." he said. Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and their pro-abortion allies are seeking to punish pro-life medical professionals for their beliefs,” Mattox said. “Far from arguing for ‘choice,’ these lawsuits seek to compel health care workers to perform abortions or face dire consequences.

The Bush conscience rules were intended to educate those in the medical field and the general public about the rights of medical personnel to treat their patients in accordance with their conscience free from intimidation. They also gave health care professionals recourse to the Office of Civil Rights and a way to press charges in the event they experience discrimination. President Obama has already upset pro-life advocates with his move to make them fund groups that perform and promote abortions overseas and by his appointing numerous pro-abortion officials to top posts.

Source: LifeNews.com

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LANDSLIDE VOTE IN FAVOUR OF KEEPING IN GOD WE TRUST ON US CURRENCY

An online poll suggests a landslide of support for keeping the motto "In God We Trust" on US currency. According to the survey, 86 percent of more than 12 million participants say the motto should not be removed from money, because it "has historical and patriotic significance and does nothing to establish a state religion." The result of the survey coincides with a federal judge in Washington, D.C, dismissed a challenge by the American Humanist Association to the use of the phrase "so help me God" at presidential inaugurations.

Earlier a California attorney pushed a case all the way to the US Supreme Court in an unsuccessful effort to remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance and to attempt to obtain an injunction barring pastors Rick Warren and Joseph E. Lowery from praying at Barack Obama's inauguration. A spokesman for a non-profit legal defence organization specializing in the defence of religious freedom said "We are pleased that the court has made it clear that religious expression by individuals at public forums is not a violation of the Constitution."

Source: WorldNetDaily

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IRANIAN YOUTH PROTEST FOR FREEDOM AS GOVERNMENT GOES INTO LOCKDOWN MODE

In the wake of Iran’s controversial election results, protesters continue to take their dissatisfaction to the streets of Tehran. The country responded by stiffening its deadly stance against protesters, refusing a new vote and expelling diplomats accused of spying. Their actions stepped up what could be the beginning of much worse oppression to come, says Glenn Penner of Voice of the Martyrs Canada. “Recent comments by the Iranian government and by the Ayatollah apportioning blame on foreign elements for these mass demonstrations is very concerning.

Linking national unrest with international interference has resulted in increasing targeting of religious minorities, such as Christians. The situation for Christians worsened under Ahmadinejad’s previous term of presidency. That’s certainly going to deteriorate in the middle of this political chaos. Iran’s population is over 71 million. 99.4% of are Islamic. The largest people group in Iran are the over 25 million Persians. The second largest group are the over 14 million Azeri Turk Azerbaijani people. Pray for all the 94 least-reached people groups still living in Iran.

Source: Intercessors Network

Australian Prayer Network