Italy: landmark consensus
Leonardo de Chirico
Date posted: 1 Sep 2014
Nearly 100% of Italian evangelical churches and bodies (85% of Italian Protestants)
on July 19 signed a common statement
reinforcing evangelical commitment to the
gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as providing
biblical standards to assess the mounting
ecumenical pressure
coming
from
the
Roman Catholic Church.
Following a round table on ‘An evangelical
perspective on Roman Catholicism’, promoted by the Italian Evangelical Alliance
and held
in Aversa
on
July
19,
the
Federation of Pentecostal Churches,
the
Assemblies of God in Italy, the Apostolic
Church and the Pentecostal Congregations, concerned by recent ecumenical initiatives
between national and international evangelical and Pentecostal circles and the Roman
Catholic Church and the Pope, believe that
a church which operates as mediator of salvation and presents other figures as mediators of grace is incompatible with the teaching of Scripture, since God’s grace comes to
us by
faith alone
in
Jesus Christ alone
(Ephesians 2.8) and without the agency of
other mediators (1 Timothy 2.5).
Italy: unfair system
Leonardo de Chirico
Date posted: 1 Aug 2014
Since 2011 onwards in Lombardia, some 16
places of worship of various Evangelical
groups have been closed.
Most of
these buildings were used by
migrant churches which ordinarily find it
more difficult to find legal protection and
are often hesitant to be outspoken about
their problems. In 2005 a regional law was passed that allowed the local police to check
whether or not these buildings were registered as places of worship. Its motivation was
to control the presence of Muslim places for
prayer but it was also a form of hostility
towards foreigners.
Protest for Meriam
BPCA / Alleanza Evangelica Italiana
Date posted: 1 Jul 2014
On Friday, June 6, Christians of all kinds and humanitarians from other minority groups met outside the Sudanese Embassy in London and demanded freedom and justice for Meriam Ibrahim.
Meriam is the Christian Sudanese doctor who was sentenced to death and to 100 lashes for alleged apostasy, that is converting from Islam to Christianity, and for adultery, that is marrying a man who is not a Muslim. This is despite Meriam being brought up by her mother as a Christian.