news in brief
Cuba: 2,000 petition for
pastor’s release
More than 2,000 people
have signed a petition
demanding
the release
of a Protestant pastor
imprisoned
without
trial
in
Cuba.
The
petition
calls
for
the
release of Pastor Rosales Fajardo, who
has been detained without trial for over
two months for participating in peaceful
protests against the ongoing shortages of
medicine and food resulting from Covid-19.
Fajardo, who has been pastor of
the
Monte de Sion church for 20 years, faces
charges
including
‘disrespect’ and
‘public
disorder’. If found guilty he could be jailed
for between three and 20 years.
news in brief
Israel: rare Biblical inscription discovered
Israeli archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, excavating in Judea, have uncovered an extremely rare 3,100-year-old inscription with a name from the book of Judges.
‘Jerubbaal’, on a small jug from 1,100 BC, could be the first hard evidence of a name from that Old Testament book found on a contemporary artifact. ‘The name of the Judge Gideon ben Yoash (Judges 6-8) was Jerubbaal, but we cannot tell whether he owned this particular vessel’, they said. More importantly, ‘that name only appears in Judges, yet now it has also been discovered in the precise archaeological stratum from that period.’
news in brief
USA: two pastors arrested over Capitol riots
James Varnell Cusick Jr., 72, and his son Casey Cusick, 35, both pastors at the Global Outreach Ministries church at Melbourne, Florida have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riots on 6 January.
They face charges including: disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. David Lesperance, a 68-year-old congregant of their church, faces similar charges. Bodycam footage and CCTV images showing the three men inside the Capitol have been presented as evidence.
Biden: liberal changes or token gestures?
Gerald Bray
Date posted: 1 Mar 2021
The
inauguration of a new American
President
is
always
a
time
of
great
expectations, but especially now, after the
sorry end to the previous regime.
Most people are relieved that the transfer
of power went off without a hitch. The
overarching need to deal with the pandemic
is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and
Joe Biden’s promise to deliver 100 million
does of the vaccine in his first 100 days in
office is being widely hailed as an ambitious
but still achievable goal. In the circumstances,
other matters have taken a back seat. Biden is
a sincere Catholic and his recent attendance
at church has been duly noted,
though
some of his executive orders are not what
the Vatican would have prescribed. He has
rescinded the restrictions on abortion that
the previous administration introduced and
has appointed homosexual and transgender
people to prominent positions. He has also
removed the bar to transgendered soldiers
serving in the armed forces. It is hard to
say what practical effect things like that will have, and for the moment few people are
talking openly about them. Whether they are
the tip of a looming iceberg of radical reform,
or simply a nod to left-wing lobbies that will
soon be disappointed in their deeper aims,
remains to be seen.