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Funerals Take Place In Sri Lanka Amid Fear Of Another Attack

Currents News Staff

Sri Lankans are conducting funerals for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks that occurred at churches as well as hotels across the country over the weekend.

The funerals, now following the attacks which took hundreds of lives, are occurring in such quick succession that there is barely time for everybody to properly grieve.

This mourning of immense loss is also taking place in an atmosphere of insecurity. There are police and soldiers posted everywhere.

There are also real concerns that there could be additional threats to the Christian community that has been so viciously targeted here.

A controlled explosion of a suspicious object could be heard in the area, and as of Wednesday night, the nation plans to impose a fourth night of curfew in response. Catholic schools in Sri Lanka are also closed until April 29.

The clergy of the Catholic church have been urging their communities to be peaceful and calm, but also to be wary of rumors and misinformation as the Sri Lankan community takes these precautionary measures and continues to confront the aftermath of Sunday’s attacks.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for these unspeakable atrocities.

Currents News for Tuesday, April 23, 2019

On the newscast: Chilling new video tonight of a suspected suicide bomber walking into church. Moments later more than 100 Catholics were dead; Controversy over the Census. U.S. Bishops have a lot to say about a major case that went to the Supreme Court today; An artist outside Notre Dame shares his paintings that memorialize the fire-scarred Catholic cathedral; A Catholic girl helping her brother through a very tough time.

Today’s top news from the Catholic perspective anchored by Liz Faublas. Currents News airs Monday through Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET on NET-TV (netny.tv)

Latest on Easter Sunday Church Bombings

By Emily Drooby

Chilling footage shows one of the suspected Sri Lankan suicide bombers as he casually strolls towards St. Sebastian’s church. The suspect slowly makes his way into the building which was packed for Easter Sunday services. Moments later, he allegedly set off a bomb that claimed the lives of over 100 worshipers. Footage shows the destruction left behind by that blast.

The church, one of three targeted during a series of coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka that claimed the lives of 321 people.

Beginning Tuesday, victims were laid to rest.

Attention now focused on the suspects along with why and how these attacks occurred.

ISIS claiming responsibility through their news agency Amaq, even posting a photo purported to be the attackers pledging their allegiance to the terror group. ISIS has made false claims in the past.

Top Sri Lankan officials said the initial investigation suggests the bombings were revenge for another recent attack.

Ruwan Wijewardhana, the Sri Lanka State Defense Minister said, “We have information that this attack is carried out by an radical Islamist group as a retaliation to the attack at the mosque in Christchurch, NZ by an extremist.”

That shooting, left 50 dead at the hands of a white supremacist.

In the Sri Lankan attack, officials believe two different local Islamic radical groups could be involved. Officials reiterating the terror cell or cells could have ties to an international terror group.

Many of the dead are children, including a fifth-grade student from an elite D.C. private school. The blast also killing Dieter Kowalski of Denver, who was in the country on a work trip. His father, Marvin Kowalski, spoke out about the tragic loss, “Only 40 years old.  And you never expect that you would outlive your son, so it’s kind of sad having to.  I always hoped that I would go first but it didn’t happen that way.”

The Sri Lankan government has been criticized for not acting on advance knowledge they had of the attacks. Their prime minister admitting they could have prevented the wave of bombings if there had not been a breach in communications.

Queens Student Beats Kidney Disease, Family and Community Rally

By Tim Harfmann

Working on fractions in his fourth-grade math class, George Kyriakopoulos looks like your typical nine-year-old — but six years ago, he contracted a rare kidney condition. “I felt different because everyone else got to play sports. Everyone else got to go to school. I wasn’t able to do any of that stuff,” said George.

A student at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy in Astoria, George was diagnosed with Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome at the age of three — a disorder where the body releases too much protein. “We thought it was just allergies. He started gaining a lot of weight on his face, and it was just so rapid,” said Maria Kyriakopoulos, George’s mom.

Even with daily medication and regular doctor visits, George relapsed several times over three years, scaring George’s oldest sister, Natalia; “I was sad, especially as an older sister, that he wasn’t able to have these childhood experiences like other children.”

To help raise awareness, Natalia, a graduate of the catholic academy, and George’s other older sister Isabella, a seventh grader at Saint Francis of Assisi, led a donation drive at the school. Catholic Academy students wore green — the color associated with kidney disorders — and raised over $1,200.

Luckily, George has been in remission for the last three years. He is enjoying school again, even placing third in last year’s diocesan-wide math bee. And he’s playing sports again, too, like flag football. Through relapses and remissions, the Kyriakopoulos family has had faith. “When you pray, you get better,” said George. “We’re so thankful,” said Maria, “After every test that he takes, whether it’s high or low, I say, ‘George, what do we say?’ and he says, ‘thank you God!”

Now, they’re praying hard for a cure, hoping no family will have to go through the same experience.

U.S. Religious Liberty Czar Says ‘No Signs’ Of Change In China Since Vatican Deal

NEW YORK – The U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom believes the United States and the Vatican should be partners in pursuing religious freedom, including in China.

“We want to stand with them [the Vatican], particularly on the issue of religious freedom,” Ambassador Sam Brownback told Currents News.

Last month, during a weeklong tour of Taiwan and Hong Kong, Brownback said that China is “at war with faith,” noting the country’s rising tides of discrimination against Muslims, Catholics, and Buddhists.

He reiterated that point to Currents News, saying “you’ve got the largest country population in the world in an all out war with faith.”

“But it is a war they will not win,” he added.

Brownback’s strong words attracted much publicity, but he said it was authorized by the State Department, and he defended it as a duty the United States has to ensure that religious liberty is aggressively defended.

He has served in the role of Ambassador At Large for International Religious Freedom since February 2018. Previously, he served as a senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and then as governor of the state from 2011-2018. Brownback converted to Catholicism in 2011.

“To whom much is given, much is required,” he said, citing the Parable of the Talents from the New Testament, which Jesus used to offer a lesson about the need to steward the gifts one has been given.

“We’ve been given much,” Brownback said to Currents News, noting that the U.S. is the most powerful nation on earth and has “a legacy of religious freedom.”

“It’s our role to advocate for that and we’re held accountable for what we’ve been given,” he said.

For that reason, he insists that “We [the United States] should be pressuring China to open up” when it comes to religious freedom.

During his visit, Brownback criticized last year’s Vatican deal with China, which reportedly allows for the Chinese government to have a say in the appointment of the country’s bishops.

“Since this provisional deal was announced last year, the Chinese government’s abuse of members of the Catholic community has continued. We see no signs that will change in the near future,” Brownback said while in Hong Kong.

He told Currents News that his criticisms came in response to concerns raised by Tibetan Buddhists who feared that the deal could “set a precedent” for the state exercising control when it came to picking religious leaders.

“Religious institutions should be able to pick their own leadership,” Brownback insisted, adding that authoritarian regimes always try to maintain control over religious leadership.

While Brownback acknowledged that “no one knows what’s in the deal except the Vatican and the Chinese government” – which he defended as each sovereign entity’s own prerogative – he said what’s important is preventing the coercion of people of faith.

“These are not done in a vacuum,” he said.

In response to Brownback’s criticisms of the Vatican deal, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, said earlier this month that it would require patience and that change would not happen overnight.

“Our hope is that [the agreement] will help, not limit, religious freedom,” Parolin told reporters during an event meant to raise awareness of anti-Christian persecution on April 3.

Brownback told Currents News that he has respect for the Church’s longstanding efforts to promote religious freedom, and in particular, he pointed to Nicaragua and Venezuela where he said the Church has continually led the way on the issue.

Despite tactical differences, he insisted that the United States and the Vatican are both forces for good when it comes to religious liberty.

“The Catholic Church has been a beacon of religious freedom,” Brownback concluded, “and we want to stand with them.”

Supreme Court Debates Census Citizenship Question

Currents News Staff

There were demonstrators outside the Supreme Court, while inside, Justices heard arguments in one of the term’s most controversial cases.

The Trump administration wants to include a question for all recipients about their citizenship, something that hasn’t happened since 1950.

Challengers say it’s designed to intimidate non-citizen immigrants, and suppress participation.

“Fundamentally the census is a measure we use to deliver on one of our nation’s core tenets, and that is the promise of fairness,” said Letitia James, the New York State Attorney General.

The census, taken every ten years, determines allocation of congressional seats and electoral college votes, and the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funding.

The White House has maintained the citizenship question has been on some forms for decades, with the exception of 2010, and is crucial to reinforcing federal voting rights law.

On March 27, 2018 White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders said “This is something that has been part of the census for decades, and something that the Department of Commerce felt strongly needed to be included again.”

Three lower courts have ruled to block the question from appearing on the census form.

During arguments Tuesday, conservative Justices seemed to suggest the administration is within its rights to include it, while liberal Justices honed in on how it could reduce respondents.

The Supreme Court term is scheduled to end before the census bureau plans to begin printing forms on July 1.

Currents News for Monday, April 22, 2019

On the newscast: The Easter church bombings that targeted Catholic churches is still developing at this hour. We’ll have the latest; The evil attack is a new example of modern-day Christian persecution and the violence is growing; At the same time, the Church is getting stronger. A large number of new Catholics are anointed; Easter at Notre Dame Cathedral, as music fills the streets of Paris.

Today’s top news from the Catholic perspective anchored by Liz Faublas. Currents News airs Monday through Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET on NET-TV (netny.tv)

Sri Lanka Bombings Continue History of Christian Persecution

By Tim Harfmann

The latest bombings in Sri Lanka are part of a pattern of attacks against modern-day Christians. On the minds of Church leaders, the all-too-familiar scenes of violence. “It just doesn’t seem to end — the persecution of believers throughout the world. Christians, especially, seem to feel the brunt of it,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York.

“To me, it’s such a cowardly act for people to kill other people while they’re worshiping,” said Bishop Gregory Mansour, chairman of Catholic Relief Services. The international aid organization works closely with Christians in nearly 170 countries, many where Christianity is a minority. “They cannot even make the sign of the cross or bring in a Bible. It is a sad state of affair that we cannot allow people to worship,” said Bishop Mansour.

In January, Currents News broke into NET-TV’s special, live coverage of World Youth Day with Pope Francis, as two church bombings killed at least 20 people and wounded about 100 more in the Philippines.

In 2017, two church bombings in Egypt killed 45 Coptic Christians during Palm Sunday services. A year earlier, an attack in Lahore, Pakistan on Easter Sunday killed 75 Christians wounded 300 more. Nearly 150 victims were killed during the 2015 Easter season, when militants attacked a university in Kenya.

Bishop Mansour said though many attacks are politically driven, people should devote their time to God rather than politics; “Don’t invest everything in this party or this party. Invest a little bit, [but] invest completely in the humanitarian work of Christ.”

A sentiment – that if taken to heart – could help end to the slaughter of innocent Christians around the world.

 

 

Fallout from the Deadly Easter Bombings in Sri Lanka

By Emily Drooby

Fallout after Easter Sunday’s deadly Sri Lanka attacks continued on Monday, as a bomb-filled van exploded during a police-controlled detonation in the capital.

Sri Lankan officials have now apologized for ignoring warnings that came in weeks before the attacks.

In an interview, Sri Lankan Minister of Telecommunication, Harin Fernando said, “I honestly do feel there was a breech and as well as there has been a big massive miscommunication. Or somebody taking this whole intelligence report lightly and thought no, it’s not possible, but they had all information.”

The coordinated bombings started just before nine on Sunday morning. Three churches holding Easter services were attacked along with three hotels. Hours later there were two additional explosions, one in private housing and one near the national zoo. Officials say seven suicide bombers were involved.

Nearly 300 are dead. Among them at least four Americans, including Dieter Kowalski, a Denver resident who was in the country on a work trip.

President Trump offered his condolences while U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained the loss of American life has brought the fight home. He said, “We mourn the loved ones of the victims some of them we can confirm were indeed U.S. citizens, this is America’s fight too.”

Three Christian churches all targeted. Pope Francis prayed for the wounded during Easter services saying, “I wish to show my affectionate closeness to the Christian community, hit while gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence.”

Back in the U.S., local Catholic reaction has been swift. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio condemning the attacks.

Bishop DiMarzio said, “It’s sad that there is religious intolerance in the world today, where everyone should have the right to practice their own religion the way they want certainly that is what we believe as Catholics, and it’s unfortunate that people have that kind of hatred for others that they would kill them when they’re in worship of God.”

Also on Easter Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan called the reaction of Sri Lanka’s Christians inspiring.

“There is already a resilience, there’s a hope, there’s a conviction that this will not extinguish our faith and we will not allow this evil to win, they’re the ones who give us hope, they’re the ones who have really interiorized the message of Easter.”

While no one has claimed responsibility for the brutal attacks, Sri Lankan officials are blaming the little-known local radical Muslim group, National Thowfeek Jamaath.

Authorities have declared a state of emergency. A curfew is in place and a social media blackout is in affect for a second day, in hopes of containing the violence and spread of miscommunication.